


Next to me

by FriendlyNeighbourhoodWriter



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Bad Parent Amanda (Detroit: Become Human), Connor Deserves Happiness, CyberLife (Detroit: Become Human), Fluff, Good Parent Hank Anderson, Hurt/Comfort, I'm trying to prevent spoilers, M/M, Markus (Detroit: Become Human) Deserves Happiness, Slow Burn, Tags May Update, Violence, me crushing hope, rk1k - Freeform, slower than last time, still suck at tagging
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-05
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:34:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 75,565
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22216387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FriendlyNeighbourhoodWriter/pseuds/FriendlyNeighbourhoodWriter
Summary: Human auIn the year 2021 Cyberlife is a multimillion dollar company, selling electronics all over the world and is known by the public as a fair and well organized company.What the public doesn’t know is that a Cyberlife facility in Detroit is holding dark secrets behind locked doors.Connor and Markus do know about these secrets, they have been their live for as long as they can remember.They have been told this is normal. They have been told this is for a greater good. They have been told they don’t have a choice. And they hadn’t. They never had.Until tonight. Until they escape.
Relationships: Amanda & Connor (Detroit: Become Human), Carl Manfred & Markus, Connor/Markus (Detroit: Become Human), Hank Anderson & Connor
Comments: 223
Kudos: 293





	1. Whatever it takes

**Author's Note:**

> I do whatever it takes  
> 'Cause I love how it feels when I break the chains
> 
> -[Whatever it takes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOsM-DYAEhY) , Imagine dragons

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do whatever it takes  
> 'Cause I love how it feels when I break the chains
> 
> -[Whatever it takes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOsM-DYAEhY) , Imagine dragons

**November 21, 2021**

**7:49 PM**

The sound of heavy breathing breaks through the silence that once consumed the night. Markus can barely make out the misty clouds that form with each breath that’s pushed out of him as he runs. His heart is pounding in his chest and he can feel drops of sweat making their way down his back, causing his white shirt to cling to his body. He considers opening his jacket, letting the cold winter air flow in to cool his chest, but there is no time, it’s not worth it. They have to keep moving.

Pain shoots through his knee, and Markus stumbles. He desperately tries to keep running at the same pace, _he can’t slow down,_ but the next step is worse, and he gasps as he falls, his legs getting wet as the snow comes into contact with his pants. Suddenly, an arm wraps around his waist, and he is hoisted back up.

“Come on.” Connor’s voice is nothing more than a few gasping breaths. “We can’t stop, you can do it.” 

Swinging his arm over Connor’s shoulder, he continues moving. Now that some of his weight is taken off his legs, Markus finds the strength to keep running, the adrenaline pushing him forwards, numbing the pain in his legs. The knowledge that every step that’s made easier for him is now weighing on Connor makes his panic soar up, but they don’t have a choice. They’re in this together.

Markus focuses his gaze on the lights ahead instead, of safety, and he tries not to think about what lies behind them.

“How-” He gasps for breath, his throat burning. “How much longer?”

He turns his head, looking at the boy running next to him. He can barely make out Connor’s face, and he focusses on the pale skin contrasting the darkness surrounding them.

Connor tightens his grip around Markus’ waist before answering. 

“A few more minutes.” He gasps. “They’ll notice something- something’s wrong with their system any moment now. Then they’ll see we’re not there and then-” Connor stops, his voice being replaced by his panting once more. He doesn’t need to finish, Markus knows what will happen when they find them gone.

“Is it enough?” He asks instead, turning his gaze back to the lights ahead. 

Connor’s reply is harsh, but Markus can still make out the fear hidden in it. “It has to be.”

They keep going, legs and throats burning, unable to see where they place their feet and nothing to guide them but some lights in the distance. 

Markus grimaces as another wave of pain rushes through his knee, but he doesn’t stop. As he tries to breathe through the agony he lets his gaze wander the night sky, and for the first time he notices the stars. It is as if the sky is nothing but a black paper filled with pinpricks, letting the light behind shine through.

For a moment Markus keeps looking up as they run. This is the first time he is seeing stars, _real_ stars, and it makes him feel incredibly small. As if he and Connor running through this field are nothing more but two grains of sand in a desert, insignificant and tiny, ready to be swallowed by the world.

For a moment, he doesn’t think about the panic, the pain and the exhaustion. For a moment Markus only focusses on the air in his lungs, Connor’s arm around his waist and the freedom that rushes through him for the first time in nineteen years.

They’re going to make it.

A blaring alarm cuts through the air, severing the silent night and announcing upcoming trouble. Connor doesn’t stop, doesn’t even look back. He just keeps running, gaze straight ahead, heading for the harbour in the distance. 

Markus, however, can’t resist looking back, at the building that hides so many secrets, that they managed to escape from, and that is now opening its gate to let out a dozen cars with bright lights, looking for them. Filled with renewed terror Markus forces himself to go faster. They made enough distance to buy some time, but they’re on foot and the jeeps filled with armed guards are quickly approaching.

Connor had come up with the plan. After he finally convinced him to leave that horrible place behind, to break free, Markus had realized he had no idea how they were actually going to get away. Breaking out the building was relatively easy, but after that, Markus drew a blank. It was Connor who was trusted enough to wander around, it was Connor who hacked the systems, it was Connor who got information on the outside world, and it is Connor who is now supporting Markus as his legs give out. 

But despite all their efforts and planning they could not get away unnoticed, and now they have to _run,_ the nine minutes Connor had bought them by disabling their alarms now gone. 

“Get down!” Connor slides to a stop, and immediately drops onto his stomach, dragging Markus down with him. 

A jeep is quickly approaching them from the road ahead, about 65 feet away from where they’re pressed into the thin layer of snow. For once Markus is glad he is wearing the white uniform Cyberlife has issued them, they’ll be a lot harder to spot now.

Slowly, he lifts his head as the car speeds by, driving way too fast to be looking for them. Markus looks at Connor, who’s eyes are now visible, reflecting the headlights of the car as it rushes by. 

“Where is it going?” Markus looks at the back of the jeep, unease spreading through his body. It’s going into the direction of the boathouse, and the young man prays they’re not going to secure it. 

Connor stares at the car for a moment longer. “They’re securing the bridge.” He finally answers, before turning to look at Markus, one corner of his lips slightly curled up. “Good thing we won’t be going there.”

They stay down for a moment longer, and Markus feels the cold creeping through his clothes, the warmth he felt only seconds ago slowly fading away. Now that the jeep has passed the roars of the other cars are imminent once again. They’re coming, and it won’t be long before they get here.

Markus turns his head, staying low and looking at Connor, who is focussing on the jeep that has now stopped on the bridge. Connor turns his head, looking back at the incoming danger, and he turns to Markus.

“Let’s go.” 

His legs hurt, and he is getting up too slow. They don’t have time for this, for Markus’ incapability. Connor notices his struggles and quickly helps him up as Markus apologizes through ragged breaths.

“It’s okay.” The burnet assures him. “I got you.”

They only hesitate for a second before resuming their run. Together, they sprint the last few feet towards to road, and as they’re crossing it Markus can’t help but feel a sense of victory, the same he felt when they crawled out that window only minutes ago, starting their escape.

Once they climb over the barriers that block their way it’s only a short distance to the river, and all that’s left now is finding a boat. 

The first few docks are empty, and Markus feels his hope slipping away as they carefully make their way over the slippery wood. Finally, at the final dock, Markus spots what they’ve been looking for; a few white boats are visible in the dark water.

Connor is the first to reach them, and he carefully sets one foot in a boat, helping Markus find his balance as he follows. It’s not a large boat, Markus thinks, although he has nothing to compare it to. It appears to be powered by a motor on the back, but they can’t use it even if they knew how to activate it. If they’re spotted on the water it’s game over.

“Shit.” Markus turns around as he hears Connor curse. The other boy is still standing halfway into the boat, and Markus can see him holding something in his hands. 

“It’s attached to the dock. There’s a lock on here.” Connor says, keeping his voice low on instinct even though nobody will hear them over the blaring alarms. 

Markus carefully moves back to Connor, trying not to fall over as the boat sways. “Is there a way to open it?”

Connor is still looking at the chain, frantically shaking his head. “We need a key, it might be inside but we don’t have time-” He lifts his head, and Markus can see the panic in his eyes as he scans the area. “How could we not think of this?” Connor continues, and his breath speeds up. “We have to break it, but I don’t know how, I don’t-”

Markus can physically see the panic taking over Connor’s mind, and he quickly steps forward to lay a hand on his arm. 

“Hey, take a deep breath.” He keeps his voice low and calm, as he has done a hundred times before. “It’s okay, Connor, we’ll figure something out.”

Connor bows his head, taking in ragged breaths as he tries to control himself. It only takes a few seconds before he lifts his head back up. 

“Okay.” The brunet says. “Okay, we have to break the chain.”

Markus nods and looks around the boat, trying to find something, anything, that could help them. Unfortunately, it seems completely empty, and Markus turns back to Connor. 

“There’s nothing here.” Despite his calm tone, Markus feels more anxious every second, as the lights of jeeps and people come closer. Both he and Connor stare at them for a moment, and as one of the vehicle’s headlights light up the barriers they passed only seconds ago, Markus gets an idea.

“If we could find a rock, do you think we can smash the lock?”

Connor looks at him, and frowns. “I don’t know. But it’s worth a shot.” 

And with that, he hops out of the boat, making Markus grab the edge as he nearly falls over. 

“Stay here.” Connor runs off, and it doesn’t take long until Markus can’t see his slim frame anymore. He shivers, and sits down, grabbing the lock in his cold hands. 

How could they not think of this, Connor had asked, and Markus fears this won’t be the only issue they’ll face if they get away. They’ve planned this as good as they could, but when all is said and done, neither of the boys have any experience with the outside world. All their knowledge comes from books, and even in those Markus suspects that a lot of information has been withheld from them. 

Markus drops the chain, and buries his face in his hands as he tries to think through his emotions. He knows all odds are against them. He knows they don’t stand a chance, but they had to try. Markus can’t remember a life outside of the labs, and as far as he knows, he spend all his nineteen years of life there. It’s funny to think that it wasn’t until Connor got a room assigned with him, and Markus saw what they did to the other boy, he started to realize that maybe this wasn’t right.

They don’t stand a chance, but Markus has to try. For Connor. For Connor and for himself.

The sounds of footsteps make Markus lift his head back up, and he spots Connor’s white uniform in the dark.

“I found one, and I also got this.” Connor’s hand shakes as he hands a large wooden stick over to Markus. As he takes it Markus notices the end is much wider, and somewhere in the back of his mind he remembers seeing this somewhere. _An oar,_ his memory helps him, and Markus silently thanks Connor for thinking ahead. 

Connor moves to take the lock, and Markus quickly tosses the oar into the boat, moving back to the front to help Connor. He takes the chain and holds it down so the lock will stay in one place, and Connor lifts his hand.

The first hit does not break it, but makes more noise than either of them expected, and Connor looks over his shoulder to the chaos behind them. Markus follows, and guesses they have a few minutes left before the guards decide to check the boats.

“Come on,” Markus says as Connor keeps staring. “It’ll break, we have time.” 

Connor takes a deep breath and hits the lock again, and again and again, now ignoring the sound it makes, but it still doesn’t break. The brunet changes tactics, and put the lock on its side. 

“Come on.” He whispers. “Please.” 

Markus grips the chain tighter, waiting for the hit as Connor once again raises the rock. He brings it down, panic and fear helping him, and with a loud clash the lock breaks. _Finally._

“Yes!” Markus nearly screams, and quickly pulls the chain off the dock. Connor wastes no time and jumps into the boat, grabs the oar and pushes them onto the river before Markus even has the time to sit down.

And then they’re on their way. They made if off Belle Isle, and now their fate lies in the watery hands of the river.

The boat slowly makes its way over the water, drifting closer and closer to the bridge. As the dark structure slowly dooms up in front of them Markus sees the guards standing by the jeep, far above their heads. A searchlight slowly scans the road and fields in front of the bridge, but it seems they leave the water in the dark. 

Connor carefully makes his way over to the back of the boat, where Markus is seated, never taking his eyes off the bridge and the guards. Neither does Markus, but when he feels Connor sit next to him he reaches out to grab his hand, the skin cold against his own. Connor tightens the grip, and scoots closer until their sides are pressed together. 

They stay like that, both shaking from cold and fear as the small boat drifts under the bridge. Markus can hear the alarm in the distance, can hear the water splashing against the bridge, can hear the engine of the jeeps as they frantically search for the two boys. It’s frightening, and Markus barely dares to breathe, afraid any wrong move will give them away.

But the boat slowly drifts further, and within a few minutes the dark underside of the bridge makes place for a sky filled with stars, once again exposing them to the eyes of anyone who would look their way. Call it good planning, or dumb luck, but not once does the light touch the water, and as the minutes pass their boat drifts further away from the Isle, bringing them closer to freedom. 

The strip of land becomes thinner until it’s completely replaced by the slowly moving water. Markus can suddenly see the lights on the other side, which has to be Canada, if he remembers correctly. 

A shiver runs through his body again, and he curls further into himself, blowing warm air onto his free hand.

“Fuck.” The word comes out shaky and soft, the cold taking a toll on Markus’ body. “Why d-did we have to do this in the winter? W-why not the summer, when it’s warm?”

Connor exhales deeply before answering, subconsciously pressing further into Markus’ body warmth. Markus is suddenly reminded that Connor hates being cold, thinking back to the time the heating in Cyberlife broke and they spend the night in a blanket fort on Markus’ bed. 

“It wouldn’t be dark if it were summer.” He answers. “We couldn’t go any later, t-they would’ve seen us if there was daylight.”

Despite everything, Markus feels a smile slowly creeping on his face. Connor has always had a habit of taking things literally and too seriously, and the reminder that it’s the same Connor sitting next to him, doing this with him, makes Markus slightly relax.

Connor notices his expression, and squints. “What?”

Markus shakes his head. “Nothing.” He looks to the right, where the lights of Detroit illuminate the river, creating a sky of stars in the water, resembling the one above.

“Port Detroit was the landmark, right? We should get closer to the shore.”

Connor shivers, and nods. He lets go of Markus’ hand and moves to grab the oar once more, making the boat sway as he moves. He holds it in his hands for a while, looking between the water and the wooden object before moving his gaze to Markus, a somewhat lost expression on his face.

“Any idea how to do this?”

“Ehm…” Markus regards the oar as well, once again realizing how incredibly unprepared they are. “We should be able to steer if we put it on the back?” 

The answer comes out as a question, and Connor shrugs, clearly not having a better idea. In the pitch black the two boys manoeuvre around until the oar lies in the water, and they are seated on either side. Markus fears they’ll fall in the water if they keep moving around this much, but the boat seems to do what it’s built for, and doesn’t flip.

Connor pushes against the oar, and slowly but surely the boat starts to change course, bringing them closer to shore.

Connor keeps his attention focussed on steering the boat, making sure they’re not being spotted, but close enough to the edge to look for Port Detroit, their landmark, the place where they have to get off. 

Markus can feel the time slide by as their little boat drifts along with the stream. He gets more worried with each building that passes, afraid he missed their mark, and that they’re now just drifting towards nothing, waiting to get caught. The cold has settled in his limbs, and his fingers are burning. Markus keeps rubbing his hands, blowing on them and putting them in his pocket to at least try and numb the unfamiliar feeling. Connor is shivering miserably next to him, clutching the oar in his freezing hands, teeth clenched as he fights the burning pain.

Markus has no idea how much time has passed when he finally spots familiar words, but it feels like an eternity too long. The building with the bright, lit up letters, **Port Detroit,** is like a beacon of hope in the dark night. He quickly points it out to Connor, and soon the boat makes its way over to the shore.

A fence is blocking their path along the entire waterfront, but, as if meant to be, a platform is extended right in front of the building, and Markus moves to grab onto a ladder as the boat hits the edge. He keeps holding onto it as Connor lets go of the oar and climbs out of the wobbly boat. As soon the brunet has left the ladder Markus follows, glad the time they spend sitting in the boat has given his legs time to rest, as he barely feels the pain anymore.

As Markus leaves the boat, there is nothing to hold it there anymore, and it drifts away with the stream once again.

“Best if they don’t know where we got off.” Connor says, voice shivering with cold. Together, they turn around and stand there for a moment, an iron fence the only thing separating them from the city of Detroit.

They made it outside of Cyberlife, they made it off Belle Isle, and now they made it into Detroit. Markus can barely believe it, and prays to anything that’s there that luck stays on their side a little longer.

Connor is the first one to move again, taking Markus’ hand as he starts to walk forward. Markus quickly follows him, and together they climb over the fence before looking at the choice that now lies in front of them.

Left or right?

“Do you know which direction?” Markus asks, his voice no longer rasping with exhaustion, now only shivering from the cold. 

Connor squints his eyes, and look to both sides before turning his intense brown eyes on Markus. “There is a security camera over there.” He nods towards a spot over Markus’ shoulder. “So left it is.”

Markus nods, and they start walking. So far, there seems to be no one around, but he knows that will change when they get into the city. 

“So,” Markus starts as they turn around the corner, now walking directly into the city. “Detroit Amtrak, right?” They had spent so long looking over maps and breaking into computers, trying to find a way outside the city. Eventually the best option seemed to be the train station. They just have to find it, jump on a train, and get the hell out of there. “How long do we have to walk?”

“About one hour and fifteen minutes.” Connor answers. “Probably longer because we don’t know the city.”

“But we know the route, right?” Markus has tried to remember it, the route they had found and both memorized before they left. But so much has happened, and he is so stressed right now, that Markus has a hard time remembering anything apart from the voice in his head that tells him to _run run run._

“Woodward avenue. Once we find that we just have to keep following it until we find the station.”

Right, Woodward avenue. Markus remembers the landmarks they studied to find their way there. They just have to keep an eye out for the street sign with that name. How hard can it be?

They cross the street after passing the building and continue to follow it. Markus can’t stop looking around, even though the area is rather uneventful. A car passes them every now and then on the left, and both Markus and Connor seem to have decided they’ll keep as far away from them as possible. Connor flinches every time one drives by, and Markus can’t shake the feeling he might get hit by one, or worse, a Cyberlife jeep spots them. 

On the other side of the road is a plain wall, and Markus doesn’t bother looking at it. But on their right there are cars parked, building lit up in the night sky, streets lights flickering and cranes moving around. There’s so much activity, Markus has never seen anything like it. 

The road isn’t long, and after a few minutes they reach the end, a red sign with the white word STOP on it making them pause. Above the sign is another one, this one having an arrow that says ‘one way’, pointing to the right.

Markus sees Connor looking at it as well. “So,” He asks him. “Guess we go right?”

Connor shrugs. “I guess? But I think the statue we had to pass is over there.” He points to the left, and Markus has no idea where Connor is looking at, so he just nods.

“Are we allowed to go left?” There are white stripes on the road, going from one side to another, and Markus has no idea if they can cross that, but there are people walking on the other side, so… maybe?

“Let’s just go.” Connor decides. “Getting to the station is more important than some traffic rules.”

Markus does not feel particularly comfortable crossing the same road where cars are speeding on, but for some reason the vehicles stop for them as they move over the white stripes. After a while Markus sees that Connor was right, on the other side of the road is a statue of a fist, suspended in the air by a few black poles. _This is good, this is really good._ They’re actually on the right path. Markus can’t help but smile at the sight of the statue, feeling a sense of accomplishment. 

They once again cross the road, following some other people who also walk over the white stripes. Apparently cars stop for those. Good to know.

Markus had thought the first road was busy, but that was nothing compared to this. There are so many people. And lights. And cars and buildings and sounds and smell and… 

Both he and Connor stop for a moment, staring at the fist statue while standing in the middle of two roads. People are passing by them, and Markus realizes how weird they must look. Two boys in matching white uniforms, way too cold for this weather, looking around like they’ve never seen anything like this.

And they haven’t. All they’ve known for their entire lives are the white labs of Cyberlife, the narrow hallways and their small shared room. Everyone was always wearing white, except for the guards who wore black. But here, everyone has different clothes, different outfits and colors, and everything is just _so much._

Connor is the first one to get moving again, tugging on Markus sleeve and telling him to go with a quiet _come on._

They cross another road and pass by a statue of a sitting man, holding a golden ball with spikes in one hand, and two golden humans in the other. Markus wishes they could stop and look at it, but they have no time. Despite the city being overwhelming and there being so much to see, the crushing anxiety that Cyberlife might show up around any corner never leaves.

Suddenly Connor tugs on Markus’ sleeve, a bright smile on his face. “There.”

Markus turns his head, gaze following Connor’s pointed finger and he spots what the brunet means. A green sign, saying Woodward.

Feeling a smile spread on his own face, Markus turns back to his companion. “Shall we?”

They start walking down the street, and for over an hour, that’s all they do. Markus’ legs start hurting again, but this time he’s not running, so it’s bearable. The cold is still cutting through his clothes, and one look at Connor tells him he feels exactly the same. There is, unfortunately, nothing they can do about it now. At least the walking gives the clothes an opportunity to dry. 

There’s so much to see that Markus can’t stop looking around, and every time he glances over to Connor to brunet seems to be in the same daze. But even though there are more things than they’ll ever be able to look at in one time, Markus can feel himself losing focus. His thoughts drift further and further as they walk, and it’s only because a train literally speeds over their heads his attention snaps back to the world.

Connor stops walking, brown eyes following the train that just crossed one of the two bridges they’re standing below. He seems to shake himself awake as well, and turns to Markus.

“I guess we found the train station.”

“Yeah…” Markus breathes, and watches as his breath turns into a white cloud. “Let’s see how we can… get inside.” God, it’s cold. It’s slowing down Markus’ thoughts, and his fear of Cyberlife finding them seems to have nearly vanished. All that he can think about right now is _warmth_ and _sleep._

“Come on.” He takes Connor’s hand, the cold skin matching Markus’ own. “Let’s cross the road.”

Together they make their way over to the beige building on the other side of the street. Markus spots multiple signs saying _Detroit Amtrak,_ and once again that sense of accomplishment washes over him.

Once they pass through the doors a rush of warm air hits Markus’ face, and he breathes a sigh of relief. He almost wants to suggest just staying here. They could sit down on the plain chairs and fall asleep. At least then they won’t die of hypothermia. 

Before any of those thoughts can become reality Connor pulls on his hand. 

“There.” Markus’ eyes follow his finger to where he is pointing. A grey train is standing a few yards ahead of them, behind glass doors. Markus looks at it for a moment, before he spots a desk on their left. The woman behind it is staring at them, throwing them suspicious glances.

“Do we need to like, pay or something?” He whispers.

Connor turns to look at the woman as well, but quickly looks away again. “We don’t have money. Let’s just pretend we know what we’re doing.”

They start walking through the building, ignore the few people that are inside and pass through the glass doors. Once again the cold winter air flows over their way too thin uniforms, and Markus starts shivering again. 

As they make their way over to the long train in front of them, Connor suddenly pulls his hand free and presses it against his eye. 

Concern quickly spreads in Markus’ chest. “Do you have a headache again?”

“I’m fine.” Connor keeps walking, determined to get to train.

“But you do have a headache.” It isn’t a question.

Connor sighs and turns to face Markus, dropping his hand again. “I’m fine, Markus. It really isn’t that bad.” He offers a small smile.

Markus studies his friend’s face for a while, well aware of the concerned look he must be giving Connor. “Okay.” He finally says. “But you tell me if it gets worse, alright?”

Connor rolls his eyes, but nods anyway. “Yes, _mom._ ” Despite the joking tone Markus can see the grateful looks on Connor’s face. He smiles to himself, relishing in the knowledge that they have each other’s back.

It takes Markus a few seconds to figure out how to open the door, but eventually they step into train. 

The moment the door closes again it feels like they’ve entered a new world. The sounds and cold breeze from outside are gone, and instead of the open space that made him feel vulnerable Markus now can’t walk ten steps without hitting a wall.

It’s comforting, in a way.

To their right Markus can see chairs and tables behind a door, but no people beside a man collecting dishes, and to the left is a narrow hallway with doors on one side. Connor leads the way, walking towards the left. 

They quickly scan past the doors, finding most of them occupied. Eventually, near the end of the corridor, Connor finds one unlocked. He makes quick work of entering the room, and shutting the door behind Markus.

The inside of the room doesn’t have much more space than the outside, but at least they’re away from the public eye. On the left are two beds suspended from the wall, one above the other, and each one has a plastic package with what looks like a blanket on top of them. A table that looks like it’s able to click back into the wall is set below the window, but apart from those few things the room is empty.

With a long sigh, Connor sits down on the bottom bed and closes his eyes.

Markus remains standing by the door. “Are we going to stay here?”

“I guess.” Connor throws his head back into his neck and rolls his shoulders. “It seems like a pretty good place to spend the night.”

“Yeah but…” Markus glances around the room once more. “What if it’s someone’s room?”

Connor opens his eyes again and looks at his friend. “Then we’ll leave. What matters is that we’re on the train, and we’re getting out of Detroit.”

Markus nods, and finally moves into the room. He sits down next to Connor, who is still shivering. Markus grabs the plastic package, and looks at it for a moment.

“We should get some sleep.” 

As Markus moves to rip open the plastic, he suddenly hears a soft ping from next to him, and as he looks over to Connor he finds the brunet flicking a coin in the air.

“I didn’t know you brought that.”

Connor keeps staring intensely at his fingers, probably trying to warm them up by moving them around the coin. “Me neither.” He says. “I noticed it was in my pocket as we were walking.” He flicks it up again, and easily catches it in his hand.

“Do you want to keep it?” Markus finally manages to get his cold hands to open the plastic, revealing a soft white blanket. “I mean, it being from there and all.”

“I do.” Connor answers as Markus stands up to grab the other blanket. “Yes, I got it from Cyberlife, but it is mine.” He starts to flick the coin from hand to hand, preforming more difficult tricks as his hands warm up. “I’m glad it’s here.”

Markus nods as he makes quick work of opening the other blanket as well, enjoying the familiar sound of Connor’s coin flicking through the air. 

“And besides,” Connor continues, flicking the coin up once more, catching it and rolling it over his knuckles before flicking it to his other hand to expertly catch it between two fingers. “I’m good at it.”

Markus huffs, and throws the blanket at Connor to wipe the smug smile off his face. “Show off.”

Connor tugs the blanket off his head and pockets his coin again. Whatever he was about to say becomes forgotten as a sudden voice announces that the train is about to leave, and starts listing the stations it will pass.

“So, we’re going to Chicago.” Markus states as the voice fades away. 

Connor kicks off his shoes and moves to lie down on the bed. “So it would seem.” 

Markus considers this for a moment, trying to decide whether this is good or bad, but he has no idea where Chicago is, or what type of city he can expect.

So instead of dwelling on what he doesn’t know Markus stands up to collect the blanket from the floor and holds one hand out to Connor. “Give me your jacket.”

The brunet raises an eyebrow at him, ready to argue. 

“You can’t sleep in that, Connor. And it needs to dry. Give me.” 

Connor sighs, but takes his white jacket off anyway, the letters _RK800_ clearly visible as he hands it over to Markus.

As Markus moves to hang his and Connor’s jacket on the top bed Connor crawls under the blanket. 

“It’s still cold.” The brunet whines, a miserable expression on his face. Markus stares at him for a moment before throwing his blanket over him as well. He grabs the pillow from the top bed and throws it next to Connor’s head, nearly hitting him.

“Scoot over.”

Brown eyes flick up to meet his, and a small smile appears on Connor’s face before he presses himself back as far as he can. There is just enough space in the bed for both of them, and Markus sighs as he finally puts his head down.

He looks at Connor’s eyes, and for a moment Markus can almost forget where they are. They’ve slept in the same bed so many times back in Cyberlife, whenever one of them was in pain, was scared, cold, sad or simply needed the other, they would climb in Markus’ bed, and somehow having the other close would chase away all the demons that the day has brought. 

And now, as Markus can’t see anything but Connor’s face and the white wall behind him, he can almost imagine them just being in their room at Cyberlife. As if the past few hours have never happened, and they never left their room at all.

But the train starts moving, effectively shattering that illusion, and Markus is glad. He doesn’t regret leaving. Not one bit. They did the right thing, and now they just have to keep it up.

“Maybe we should get off one station before Chicago.” Connor suddenly whispers, voice soft now that they’re so close together. “If they find out we took this train, they won’t expect it.”

Markus hums, eyelids starting to droop as the warmth once again spreads through his body. “One of us has to stay awake though. So we know when to leave.”

Connor stares at him for a moment, considering. “Chicago it is.”

Markus chuckles. Connor’s love for sleep never ceases to amaze him, even though the brunet can pull through hours and hours without it. 

He yawns, the events of the day finally catching up with him. Maybe it’s dangerous and stupid to both go to sleep. Maybe one of them should keep watch, to make sure. But one look at Connor’s closed eyes has Markus ignore that thought. They earned some sleep. Cyberlife cannot be on this train. They just can’t. 

For now, they are safe.

With that thought in mind Markus pulls the blanket up to his chin, and closes his eyes. Connor doesn’t seem to mind that half of his face disappears under the thing because of it. 

Markus smiles. “Goodnight Connor.”

“Goodnight Markus.”


	2. Boomerang

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They made it out, now they just have to stay hidden. How hard can it be?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'll see you tomorrow  
> 'Cause I'm bad to letting you go, letting you go
> 
> -[Boomerang](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDjfMI6QvxQ), Imagine Dragons

**November 22, 2021**

**1:14 AM**

It’s dark when Markus wakes up. 

In the blackness of the room he can hear Connor’s soft breaths, still fast asleep next to him. Outside their small cabin the wind is howling and Markus suddenly becomes aware of the movement of the train again. 

Rubbing his eyes, Markus tries to figure out what it is that woke him, and after swallowing a few times he finds the guilty factor; his throat is as dry as sandpaper. Sighing, he closes his eyes once again, trying to ignore the feeling and fall back asleep once more, but after a few minutes it becomes apparent that that won’t happen. 

Markus groans before carefully pushing the blankets off him and he steps out of the small bed, lowering his feet on the ground. The cold floor sends a shock through his skin, and Markus grits his teeth as he steps down. It’s still fucking cold. They should’ve just gone in the summer, no matter how bad of a plan that would be. 

After making sure Connor is still asleep and covered in blankets, Markus quietly puts on his shoes and exits the room. The lights in the hall are a stark contrast with the darkness behind him, and he has to blink a few times to get used to the harsh attack on his eyes. 

The young man slowly makes his way through the narrow hallway, holding on to the wall against the rocking of the train while looking for a toilet. 

He keeps walking through, ignoring his reflection in the dark windows that block his view to the outside world, and eventually Markus manages to find a small bathroom. 

The water from the tap is an icy shock to his mouth, but this time he doesn’t care as it soothes his burning throat. Wiping the water from his lips, Markus looks up into the dirty mirror hanging above the sink. He still looks exactly like he did in Cyberlife, complete with his white shirt and neat short hair. He doesn’t know why this surprises him, as if he was expecting to be completely different now. 

It’s nice, knowing that despite the shift of his entire world, Markus is still the same person. 

He exhales slowly, watching as his reflection turns away and exits the bathroom. As he makes his way back to their room, a voice suddenly fills the hallway. 

“Ladies and gentleman,” A soft male voice announces. “In a few minutes we will be arriving in Niles, at the Amtrak train station Niles. We will stop for fifteen minutes before continuing the last miles to Chicago. Please make sure to take all your luggage when exiting the train. We wish you a pleasant journey and a good night.” 

Niles. 

They could go there, leave the train now. It would be like Connor said; they would never expect it. 

Feeling the train slow down, Markus quickly returns to their room and turns the lights on before shaking the brunet awake. 

Connor whines quietly before shaking Markus’ hand off him, and presses his face deeper in the pillow. 

“What?” He mumbles, voice muffled by the pillow. 

“We gotta go.” Markus whispers. “Come on, wake up.” 

Connor turns on his back and starts rubbing his eyes. “Are we there already?” 

“Sort of.” Markus stands up, grabbing their jackets from where they’re hanging on the top bed. “We’re in Niles.” 

“Niles?” Connor removes his hands from his eyes, and tired brown orbs stare up at Markus. “Why’re we leaving now?” 

Markus throws Connor’s jacket to him. “Because someone told me they won’t expect it if we leave now.” He quickly explains while putting on his own jacket. 

The brunet slowly sits up, hands moving to grab the white clothing. He mumbles something that Markus translates as ‘I hate myself’, and slides out of bed. 

Together they walk through the narrow hallway of the train, not seeing anyone until they’re almost at the door. 

A young man exits the last room, and mumbles a tired apology as he pushes past them. He doesn’t seem to pay much attention to the two boys standing in the hallway, and Markus doesn’t fear him remembering anything about them. 

As he watches the man walk down the train, Connor suddenly rushes past him, and enters the room the man just left. 

Shocked, Markus makes quick work of following him, and finds Connor going through a bag of clothing in the empty bedroom. 

“Connor.” Markus hisses. “What are you doing?” 

Connor doesn’t look up, but throws something at Markus instead. “We need to change. We have to keep a low profile, which won’t work in these clothes. And we need protection from the cold.” He discards of his Cyberlife jacket, and quickly pulls a large grey hoodie over his head. 

Markus stares at the clothing Connor just threw at him for a moment, conflicted. “We can’t just take this, it’s from that guy.” 

Connor stops looking through the bag, and looks at Markus. “And we need it more. He can just get new clothes.” 

“You don’t _know_ that.” Markus argues, anxiously looking over his shoulder into the hallway before turning back to Connor. 

The brunet huffs, and grabs a black jacket from the bag before closing it again. “What I know,” He begins. “is that if we get caught, we’ll never get out again. I know that if we make one mistake Cyberlife is going to find us, and drag us back to that hell.” After grabbing a last item from the bag Connor stands up again, brown eyes linking to green and blue ones. “Is that what you want?” 

Markus drops his gaze, looking at the blue shirt in his hands. Connor is right. They need this, but... it doesn’t feel right. 

Before he has the time to dwell on it, though, Connor pushes the black jacket into his hands. “Put the jacket on, and let's go.” 

Realizing that this is a necessity, Markus does as he’s told, and follows Connor out the train. 

Niles is... smaller than Detroit. As they step onto the platform Markus can only see one other person getting out of the train, but apart from her the station seems abandoned. 

They start walking, following the other passenger towards the exit. As they leave the small station, the woman walks towards a waiting car. Markus watches her hug a man before getting in and driving off. Suddenly it's just him and Connor standing in the snow, and a feeling of dread creeps over him. 

“Where do we go?” He asks, tugging the sleeves off the black jacket over his hands. Markus suddenly feels a lot less guilty about stealing it. 

“Let’s just walk.” Connor suggests. “We’ll find something.” 

Markus quickly agrees, not having a better plan, and once again they start walking through an unfamiliar city. 

Niles, Markus notices, is very different from Detroit. The full streets and street signs are missing, instead he and Connor just follow a lonely path next to a busy road. The cars that are speeding by are their only company, their headlights providing a constant flickering light show. 

Eventually a building that doesn’t look like someone’s house comes into view, and after closer inspection Markus recognizes it as a gas station. As he looks to the side, he sees Connor’s spotted it as well. 

“We could ask if someone knows a place where we could spend the night.” Markus suggests. 

Connor nods, moving towards the station. “And get some food, I’m starving.” 

“Food?” Markus is quick to follow the brunet. “How do you want to get food?” 

Connor turns around, a small smile on his face. He digs in the pocket of his hoodie and fishes out a few green bills. 

“You took his money.” 

“I figured we could use it. Don’t tell me I was wrong.” Connor doesn’t look guilty, but he does look like he desperately wants Markus’ approval, eyebrows furrowed and brown eyes pleading with him. 

Markus sigs, and shakes his head. “You weren’t.” He wants to wipe that expression off Connor’s face, and smiles. “At least one of us thinks ahead. Let’s get food.” 

Connor looks relieved, and he smiles as well. Markus instantly feels better. 

The gas station is bigger than Markus expend it to be, and the number of items it sells is more than he’s ever seen. He doesn’t even recognize half of the stuff, and if Connor’s lost expression is anything to go by, neither does he. 

There is a girl behind the counter who looks bored out of her mind, but apart from her there’s no one else in the building. Good. 

The girl greets them, and after mumbling a quick ‘hello’ they start exploring the products. 

“Any idea what we should get?” Markus murmurs, keeping his voice low. The girl doesn’t seem to listen to them, but Markus would like to prevent her from hearing them either way. 

Connor only shakes his head as his eyes scan the products. “We should just get some bread or something. I don’t know, you decide.” 

“Yeah...” Markus agrees, still looking over the food, having no idea what he is looking at. _Dorito’s? Lay’s? Tostito’s?_

He is just about to move on to where sandwiches are displayed, when Connor’s hand on his arm stops him. 

“Don’t look, but there is something off about that girl.” His voice is low, eyes intentionally not looking at the counter. 

Markus frowns, and turns to look around when Connor quickly slaps his shoulder. “What did I just say?” He hisses. 

“I don’t understand.” Markus’ voice is equally low. “What’s wrong with her?” 

“She keeps looking at us.” Connor explains, eyes glancing over Markus’ shoulder before returning to his face. “Every time I look her way she quickly glances away. What is she’s working for Cyberlife?” 

Markus feels disbelieve spreading through his chest. There is no way, that here, in this random gas station, a Cyberlife spy has found them. Right? 

Slowly, Markus turns around, and sure enough, the girl is looking at them. When she catches Markus’ eyes she quickly glances down, and Markus can see her cheeks reddening. Her expression reminds him of two guards in Cyberlife, who thought they kept their relationship well hidden. He turns back to Connor and folds his arms. 

“I don’t think she’s working for Cyberlife.” 

Brown eyes fill with confusion. “How do you know that?” 

Markus can’t stop the grin that slides on his face. “I think she’s looking at you because she thinks you’re cute.” 

Connor frowns, and his eyes quickly dart between the girl and Markus before realization dawns on his face. “I- oh.” 

A chuckle escapes Markus as Connor’s face turns red, and the brunet turns away. “How do you know she’s not looking at you?” He mutters. 

Markus quickly follows his friend as he walks away. “Maybe you should use your charm on her.” He jokes. “Get us some free stuff.” 

Connor snorts, and grabs a sandwich from the cooler. “If anyone is good at charming people it’s you. Worked on me too.” 

Markus feels his eyebrows shoot up as he takes the sandwich Connor offers him. 

“You convinced me to leave Cyberlife after all.” 

“Right.” Markus says, wondering why he feels disappointment at that statement. He doesn’t let it show though, and quickly responds. “God knows that was nearly impossible.” 

“I wasn’t _that_ bad.” Connor huffs as he grabs a bottle of... something. “You just... gave the final push.” 

“Oh, sure. That’s how it went.” 

“Exactly.” Connor pushes past him and makes his way over the counter, and Markus rolls his eyes before following him. 

“Good evening.” The girl greets them as they place their stuff on the counter. “Would that be all?” 

“Yeah, thanks.” Markus says as Connor digs out the money. 

The girl smiles at them before reading the price. Connor stares at the bills for a while before handing a few over to her. “I haven’t seen you guys here before.” She says as she puts the money away. “Are you passing through?” 

“Something like that.” Markus answers, trying to dodge her question. “Do you know if there’s a place nearby where we could spend the night?” 

The girl closes her register and thinks for a few seconds before her eyes lit up. “There’s a motel, about a mile down the road.” She eagerly says, all too happy to help. “I believe it’s pretty cheap too.” 

Connor moves to take the food off the counter and Markus flashes the girl a thankful smile. “Thank you. Have a good night.” 

She bids them goodnight, and now stocked with food the two leave the gas station behind. As they start walking in the direction of the motel, Connor hands Markus his sandwich and opens his own. 

Markus takes a bite, and tries to determine if he likes it or not. Connor’s voice interrupts his deep thought process. “I didn’t think I’d be missing anything from Cyberlife,” The brunet pouts. “But I miss the food.” 

“Perhaps you just picked the wrong type of sandwich.” Markus argues. 

“It’s a turkey and cheese sandwich.” Connor whines. “How can it be wrong?” 

Markus hums and takes another bite. “Maybe next time we have to get _Dorito’s._ ” 

Connor shakes his head. “You don’t even know what that is.” 

“I also don’t know what that drink is you got.” Markus eyes the bottle Connor is holding in his free hand. “Why’d you even get that?” 

Holding up the bottle, Connor closer inspects the black liquid inside. “It was the cheapest one, I don’t know what it is.” He eyes Markus. “Want to try it?” 

Markus gestures towards his sandwich. “You first.” He quickly takes another bite to show that he is not going to drink that. 

Connor seems to consider it for a moment, before accepting Markus’ silent challenge. He unscrews the lid, and a soft hiss escapes. Only hesitating for a second longer, he brings the bottle to his lips and takes a small sip. 

Markus can’t help it; he has to laugh at the expression that crosses Connor’s face. His brows furrow as his lips turn down, and he blinks a few times before swallowing. 

He opens his mouth and a soft cough escapes him. “That was... interesting.” 

“Is it good?” 

Connor takes another sip, and this time he only looks concentrated. “It’s not bad.” He concludes. “Here, try.” 

Accepting the bottle, Markus lowers his sandwich and brings it up to his face. In the light that the passing cars throw on them he can see small drops jumping from the surface of the liquid. Deciding to ignore how it looks, he tilts the bottle and takes a quick gulp. 

The first thing he notices is how incredibly sweet the drink is, and he thinks that he might like it. But before he can process anything more Markus discovers that the liquid is sparkly, and he tries to swallow it before he has to cough. It backfires though, as he feels a tingle travel up his nose, and he cannot stop the cough that escapes his mouth. 

Next to him, he can hear Connor burst out in laughter, and he would’ve glared at him if he wasn’t trying to not die. 

It takes him a few seconds to catch his breath, and when he finally does Connor is still laughing. Annoyed, Markus shoves the bottle back to the brunet who puts the lid back on. 

Connor looks way to smug for Markus’ liking, and his taunting is no surprise. 

“So... did you like it?” 

“Shut up.”

* * *

The motel proves to be nearby, and it’s easy to spot from where they are walking. Once they’ve crossed the road it’s easy to find the entrance, and once they get inside, they’re greeted by an old man sitting behind the counter. 

Walking towards the man, Markus smiles. “Hi, we’d like a room.” 

The man stands up, and nods. “That’ll be forty dollars. Upfront.” 

Markus glances towards Connor. How much money do they even have? They should’ve checked first, what if- 

Connor hands the man a few bills and after checking them the man nods again. Markus’ nerves ease somewhat, only to spike again when the man asks them to write down their name and address. Connor must notice Markus’ unease, as he reaches past him and writes something down. Markus has no idea what it is, but apparently it’s good enough to convince the man. 

“Can I see your ID’s?” 

Markus freezes, words locking in his throat. He really doesn’t want to go outside again, but if this man starts asking questions, they won’t have a choice. 

Before any of that can happen, though, Connor let’s out a tired sigh. “We haven’t got it with us.” He looks up at the man, brown eyes all innocent and pleading. “Please, we’re really tired.” 

The man smiles, and takes out a card from under the counter. “No worries,” He says. “We can deal with it tomorrow. Have a good night.” 

Connor smiles and takes the card. “Good night.” 

As they step outside again Markus let’s out a relieved sigh. “Do you think he believed you?” 

Connor inspects the card for a moment and shrugs. “I don’t know. But at least we’ll be warm for tonight. Come on.” 

Following his friend, Markus walks through the motel, up two stairs and towards room 207. Connor unlocks the door after a few tries, and they step inside. 

The room is about a large as their bedroom in Cyberlife was, with two single beds standing next to each other, only separated by a nightstand. A glass door gives access to a balcony on the back wall, and on the right is one more door. Connor tosses the key card on a cabinet that also occupies the room, and Markus locks the door. 

After a quick inspection of the second door in the room, Markus also discovers a bathroom, and the sight of a shower brings a smile to his face. He quickly informs Connor of his findings before undressing and stepping into the tub. 

The warm water is heavenly, and for the first time since Markus stepped out of that bed in the train, he feels warm again. Some of the constant present stress washes from his shoulders as the water glides down, and Markus lets out a content sigh. 

He makes sure not to stay in the shower for too long, remembering how the hot water would run out after a while in Cyberlife. After drying off Markus wraps a towel around his hips and takes his clothes in his hands before stepping back into the room. 

Connor is sitting on the bed, reading a magazine, and he looks up as Markus enters again. 

“Shower’s all yours.” Markus says, and Connor quickly walks past him, seemingly in a hurry to get into the bathroom. 

Markus drops his clothes on the right bed and sits down, enjoying the warmth in his limbs. He doesn’t bother getting dressed again, but simply puts on his underwear and crawls underneath the blanket. The clock on the wall reads 2:15 AM, and Markus yawns, wondering how long they could sleep before the receptionist wants to sort out their ID’s. 

When Connor returns to the room, hair slightly damp and also wearing nothing but his underwear, Markus has almost fallen asleep. He quickly sits back up and rubs his eyes. He waits for Connor to also climb in bed and cover himself with blankets before he speaks. 

“What’s the plan for tomorrow?” 

Connor turns onto his side so he can look at Markus before answering. “We have to leave without that guy noticing, which shouldn’t be too hard. And after that...” He thinks for a moment. “Get some food, maybe take another train?” 

Markus hums, considering. “How much money do we have left?” Now that they’re inside, warm and no longer hungry Markus has lost all guilt about robbing that guy. Maybe that’s bad, but in the comfort of the room he can’t seem to care. 

“About ten dollars.” Connor answers. “We can get breakfast somewhere, and then leave.” 

A beat of silence passes between the two boys before Markus speaks up again. 

“Do you think they’ll find us?” 

Connor remains silent for a moment. “I don’t know.” He finally sighs. “They shouldn’t be able to if we keep moving, right?” 

“Right.” 

The conversation stills once more, both of them lost in their thoughts about _what if._ Markus doesn’t let himself think of the _what if they got away,_ because he knows that’s just going to hurt more when they fail. But despite knowing that, he can’t help the hope that grows stronger every minute they spend in freedom. 

Connor is the one to break the silence again. 

“Are you afraid?” 

“Of what?” Markus turns his head to look at his companion, who is now laying on his back and staring at the ceiling. 

“Of getting caught.” Connor’s voice is quiet. “Of going back there.” 

Markus thinks for a moment, pictures the guards handcuffing him and dragging him and Connor back to Detroit, taking them inside and never letting them out again. He pictures them cutting his legs again, waking up and not being able to walk. Pictures Connor, curled up in bed with a headache so bad he can’t even speak. 

“Yeah.” He breathes. “Are you?” 

“I can’t stop thinking about Amanda.” Connor confesses, and Markus watches as he blows air against a loose curl on his forehead, the strand of hair bouncing up and down. “She’s going to be so angry.” 

“She has no right to be.” Markus’ voice is louder than he intended. 

“But she took care of us.” Connor mumbles. “She taught us everything we know, and we just left her.” 

Amanda was the main reason it took Markus so long to convince Connor to leave with him, Markus remembers. He could see through her words, see that she didn’t care about them at all, was only interested in getting results. But Connor had always wanted to do good, that’s just who he is, and Amanda used that to her full advantage. A few words of disappointment and Connor was ready to do whatever she asked. 

Anger bubbles in Markus’ chest at the memories. “She never cared about us, Connor.” He says, voice firm. “She only cared about getting what _she_ wanted, not if it would hurt us or not. We didn’t leave her, we escaped her.” 

Connor is quiet, probably overthinking Markus’ words. Knowing how lost in bad thoughts Connor can get, he desperately attempts to take his mind off it. 

“Do you think we made her show emotion?” 

A soft chuckle rewards Markus, and he smiles. 

“I would not want to see that.” Connor mumbles before a yawn escapes him. 

“I don’t know, it would be a once in a lifetime experience.” Marus turns off his light. As much as he would like to continue their conversation, they need to get as much sleep as they can. 

“Let’s go to sleep.” 

Connor hums in agreement and switches off his light as well, and the room gets coated in darkness. The thoughts of fear probably won’t fade for a while, but at least for now they’re alright. 

It doesn’t take five minutes for both of them to fall fast asleep.

* * *

**November 22, 2021**

**6:41 AM**

“-kus, Markus, wake up!” 

Connor’s panicked voice effectively rouses Markus from his sleep, and he quickly sits up, trying to blink the sleep from his eyes. 

Connor is standing by the window, already dressed, and he has pulled the curtain slightly aside to glance outside. Markus kicks the blankets off and walks over to him. 

“What is it?” He pulls at the other side of the curtain, and the sight that greets him makes his body freeze. 

Down there, next to the entrance, Markus can clearly make out a black car. It looks exactly like the ones that chased them as the escaped Cyberlife. To confirm his fears, a few figures walk around the car, Markus can count two on the backside, one casually leaning against the hood and one walks inside. Markus feels his heart race as he tries to determine how fucked they are, as one last man steps outside, the brown hair looking familiar to Markus, even from is distance. 

“Is that Perkins?” 

Connor keeps staring for a moment longer, before letting go of the curtain and stepping back into the room, his brown eyes blown wide with panic. “We have to get out of here.” 

Nodding, Markus pulls back and quickly put on his clothes as Connor starts pacing the room. 

“We can’t get leave through the front; they’ll see us right away.” Connor says, voice fast and panicky. 

Markus quickly puts on his shoes and looks up. “So, what do we do?” 

Connor glances around the room. “The balcony.” He decides. “It’s the only way.” 

They quickly open the glass door, and step onto the balcony. In the distance, Markus can see the sky coloring orange, indicating the sun that is about to rise. He doesn’t even have time to appreciate his first sunrise, though, as his heart is racing and every second that ticks by brings Perkins and his men closer to them. 

“Come on,” Connor nudges him, his breath turning into white smoke as he exhales. “We have to get down.” 

They’re on the second floor, and Markus’ stress gets even worse when Connor hops on the edge and climbs to the other side. Their eyes meet, and Markus can see the unconcealed fear in his friend’s gaze. 

Markus steps forward and places his hands on Connor’s arms. “Let yourself drop, I got you.” 

Letting out a shaky exhale, Connor nods, and slowly removes his feet from the safety of the edge. Markus helps him grab the edge of the balcony instead of the railing, and for a few terrifying seconds Connor is suspended in midair, the only support coming from his tight grip and Markus’ hands. 

But then he swings his legs, releases his hands, and lands on the balcony below them. 

“Come on.” Markus hears him say. “Your turn.” 

Looking into the room once more, Markus hops on the railing like Connor did, and tries his hardest not to look down. He slowly lowers himself, panicked gasps leaving him when his feet don’t meet any ground right away. 

Suddenly, he feels a pair of hands grab his legs, and Connor pulls him towards him. Markus lowers his hands, gliding down the railing until he is holding the edge of the platform. 

Connor’s hands grab his waist, and Markus lets go, feeling his body collide with Connor’s, and then he’s on the balcony, solid ground beneath his feet. 

They don’t have time to stop though, and Connor immediately climbs over the edge again, lowers himself, and drops down onto the ground below. 

Markus does the same, the fear of getting caught overshadowing the fear of the pain that this fall will bring to his legs. 

As his feet hit the grass, his legs collapse, and it’s only because of Connor that he doesn’t land face first into the ground. 

“Are you okay?” 

Markus breathes for a while, trying to push away the pain, and he nods. “Yeah, let’s go.” 

They walk past the building, staying close the wall. Connor peaks around the corner, and after giving the clear to Markus they make a run for the houses on the other side of the street. 

Avoiding the main street, he and Connor run past backyards and fences, the rising sun coloring their path orange, and Markus is thankful that most people are still asleep at this time. 

There’s no sign of Perkins and his crew, but they keep going, keep running, adrenaline pushing them further and further, and Markus hates how similar it feels to their escape only a hours ago. 

Eventually, when the sun is well on its way to the highest point in the sky, they stop. Connor spotted an abandoned building, and it only takes a quick climb over a fence to get in. 

The building is old, dirty and dusty, but both of them collapse against a wall once they’re inside, breathing heavily. For a few minutes, neither of them speak, they only gratefully drink what’s left of the drink they bought yesterday as their minds try to catch up with the events of the present. 

“We shouldn’t stop.” Connor pants. “We must’ve left footprints, they’ll find us again.” 

Markus shakes his head. “We ran over the road right after we left. They won’t find us.” 

“What if they have those, those dogs? They’ll track our smell.” 

“I didn’t see any dogs. Did you?” 

“I don’t know!” Connor all but yells, and he throws the now empty bottle across the dark room. His hands are shaking as he buries his head against his knees. 

Markus can feel his own fear and frustration boiling in his chest, but he doesn’t let it overflow, he can’t allow that right now. “We got away, Connor.” 

“You don’t know that.” Connor lifts his head from his knees again, and moves a hand through his hair. “You don’t _know_ that. How did they even find us?” 

“We left our jackets in the train.” Markus remembers. “Maybe... the guy reported it? And then, then... I don’t know.” 

Connor shakes his head. “It doesn’t make sense.” He mumbles, more to himself than to Markus. He looks absolutely miserable, and Markus can only imagine he looks the same. 

Scooting closer, Markus wraps one arm around Connor, and the brunet easily leans into the touch, resting his head on Markus’ shoulder. “We’re still here.” Markus promises, and he feels Connor exhale. “They haven’t got us yet. We’ll figure it out.”

* * *

They stay in the building for a few more hours, resting on their spot against the wall, both not saying much. The cold winter air once begins to creep underneath Markus’ clothes, and he can feel Connor shudder against him. Hunger is also starting to make its appearance again, and although they try to stay in the building as long as they can, eventually Markus’ stomach growls loudly, and they get up. 

Markus hesitates a moment before stepping outside, looking for any sign of trouble. When he sees none, he steps forward, followed closely by Connor. 

They walk over the street, back to the more civilized part of town, making an effort of staying out of sight. 

The fear never leaves them. 

After a few minutes Markus spots a store and they quickly move inside, staying away from cameras. They spend the last of their money on food and water, buying enough to last them a while. Staying away from public places has become a new priority, and after they got their items, the pair quickly moves back to the calmer parts of town. 

“Should we try to get out of town?” Markus asks. Connor has been awfully quiet ever since they escaped the motel, and Markus knows he has a headache and is trying to figure out how Cyberlife found them at the same time. 

Markus also knows none of these thoughts are going to help them, and he has been trying to get Connor out of his head since they left the building. 

“Probably best to avoid that right now.” Connor mumbles, not looking up. 

Markus conceals a sigh. Connor probably won’t stop thinking until he comes out of it himself, and it makes Markus feel pretty useless. 

They walk back to the building, but as Markus turns into the street Connor suddenly grabs his arm, pulling him back. Markus can just make out the black car before he gets pulled away. 

“Shit.” He swears, keeping his voice low. “Shit, how did they-” Before he can even finish that thought, Connor pulls his arm again, telling him to go, and they start running again. 

They end up in another part of town, away from the main roads. Markus keeps glancing around him, fear never leaving his body as they keep walking. Connor suggests they have to keep moving, have to get away, and Markus hopes that’s all that it will take. He has no idea how to prevent being found again. 

They keep walking until the sun sets again and darkness quickly spreads across the empty streets of Niles. Cyberlife doesn’t show up again, but they still have to find a safe place to stay, and having spent the last of the money, that proves to be a difficult task. 

But maybe something decides they’ve had enough bad luck for today, and as they walk through another street, a voice suddenly calls to them. 

“Why are you two still outside, in this weather?” 

Connor freezes and Markus turns around, seeing a man with a kind face walking towards them. 

“And you seem underdressed, too.” The man continues as he stops in front of them. “Are you lost?” 

“We just...” Markus trails off, not knowing what to say. He is exhausted, both in his body and mind, and he just can’t come up with anything. Connor is silent next to him, eyeing the man suspiciously. 

The man simply smiles, blue eyes wrinkle at the sides. “Do you have a place to spend the night?” 

Deciding to see what he wants, Markus answers honestly. “No. And we don’t have money either.” 

The man nods. “If you wish, you can come with me. I have a place you can stay for tonight.” 

“What kind of place?” Connor finally speaks, distrust evidence in his voice. 

Seemingly not bothered by Connor’s harsh tone, the man turns to him. “I have a church. We help homeless people, and you look like you could use some help.” 

Markus knows Connor wants to say no. _Markus_ wants to say no. They can’t trust anyone but themselves. 

And yet, as he looks at the man, Markus can’t help but just needing to say yes. They’re scared, they’re tired, cold and alone, and if this man is offering help, why would they decline? 

So he gives the man a tired smile. “That would be perfect.” 

The man leads them down the street, and strangely Markus doesn’t feel any sense of danger. Connor is stiff next to him, not saying a word. Markus wonders what he’s thinking about. 

They stop in front of a white building with a large cross put up against the front wall. 

“Usually I would redirect you to the homeless shelter.” The man explains as he opens the door. “But it closed about an hour ago. If you promise not to cause any trouble, you’re welcome to sleep in my office.” 

He leads them inside, and makes them wait in a small room. A few pictures and crosses hang on the walls, and there is one large desk in the middle. 

“Do you think we can trust him?” Markus asks as he leans against the desk. 

Connor shrugs. “We don’t have much of a choice.” 

They don’t say anything else, and after a few minutes the man returns, a few blankets in his hand. 

“I must be going.” He explains. “You can unlock the door from the inside, if you decide to leave. But if you stay around until tomorrow, I can help you get a more... permanent place.” 

Deciding not to question the man’s motives, Markus accepts the blankets. “Thank you. We really appreciate it.” 

The man nods. “It’s not a problem, really. Just don’t steal anything please. And hopefully I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

With that the man leaves, and just like that, Markus and Connor are alone, in an unknown church. 

“That was weird.” Markus decides and hands one of the blankets to Connor. 

The brunet doesn’t meet his eyes as he accepts the blanket, just keeps staring at the ground. 

“What’s wrong?” Markus asks. 

Connor shakes his head, and moves to sit down. Markus frowns, and sits next to him. “Do you have a headache again?” 

“Do you remember when I got my surgery, back in Cyberlife?” Connor suddenly asks, his voice soft. 

Markus nods, of course he does. He clearly remembers when Connor didn’t return to their room one night, or the next, or the next. No one would answer his question, and he didn’t see Amanda for days. Markus started to fear the worse, and then one day Connor suddenly returned, and Markus was shocked. His head was completely devoid of any brown hair, and instead, a scar ran across his scalp, dark and ugly. After that, Connor started getting his regular headaches. 

“Yes, why?” 

“I think that- They did- They-" Connor stops himself a few times, and Markus can see him trying to get his thoughts in line. 

“They put something in my brain, remember? Something they could connect their machines with.” Connor taps his head as he speaks, hand moving over the place where his hair never quite grew back. 

“Why are you bringing this up?” 

Connor is silent for a few seconds, before his words crush Markus’ hope. “I think they’re using it to track us down.” 

“What?” Markus exclaims. “No, that’s, that’s not possible. If they did that, why haven’t they found us yet?” 

Connor looks up, finally meeting Markus’ eyes. “It’s not supposed to be used for tracking. Think about it. Only after we stayed somewhere for more than a few hours did they manage to find us. They can’t pinpoint our location when we move, but the second we stop...” He trails off, hand gesturing in front of him. 

“Is that what you’ve been thinking about all this time?” 

He shrugs, confirming that yes, he had. 

“Connor, that’s- no.” 

“Why not, Markus?” He asks, desperation visible in his eyes. “It makes sense, doesn't it? Tell me I’m wrong, go ahead.” 

Markus opens his mouth, ready do just as Connor says, but no words come out. It does make sense. Markus hates it, but it does. 

“You should stay here.” Connor interrupts his thoughts. “They won’t find you here.” 

Markus frowns for a second, not understanding, and suddenly he understands everything. “No.” He says immediately. “Absolutely not.” His voice leaves no room for discussion. 

Connor doesn’t care. “Yes. Isn’t it better if at least one of us gets away? If you stay with me-" 

“You’re not leaving me!” 

Connor shuts up, wide eyes staring at Markus. “You’re not, okay? We’ll figure something out.” Markus turns, so that he is seated directly in front of his friend. “We’ll keep moving, and we will find someone- something that can block the signal. Anything. We’ll figure it out.” He places his hand on Connor’s shoulder, trying to, _needing to_ make him understand. 

“We’re in this together goddamnit. We need each other. _I need you._ ” 

Connor’s gaze glides from Markus’ eyes to the floor, his mouth opening and closing a few times. 

“You’re not leaving, promise me you’re not leaving.” 

Connor keeps looking down for a moment longer, and then a look of resignation glides over his face. His eyes meet Markus’, and he nods. 

“I promise.” 

Markus squeezes his shoulder before smiling and dropping his arm. “Okay.” 

He moves away, getting used to the new kind of fear that has entered his chest, and puts blankets around the both of them. “We’ll sleep for a few hours, and we’ll be gone before they can find us, alright?” 

Connor still looks down, but Markus can’t blame him. At least they’ll stay together, they’ll be fine. He tells Connor as much, and the brunet smiles. 

“Yeah.” He moves to lay down. “Goodnight Markus.” 

Markus tries to get comfortable on the floor, and sighs. They’ll be fine. He knows they will. 

“Goodnight Connor.”

* * *

**November 23, 2021**

**7:08 AM**

Despite his hurting back, Markus wakes up feeling well rested, and that realization immediately feels wrong. 

He quickly sits up, scanning the room around him. Everything still looks the same as it did the day before, except this time daylight floods through the small window. 

They must’ve slept all night, instead of a few hours as planned. But they’re still here, which means Perkins hasn’t found them again. 

Which means Connor was wrong. 

Markus turns around to wake his friend, and- 

Connor’s not there. 

A horrible feeling starts to roar in Markus’ chest, but he stamps it down. He must be here somewhere. 

He quickly gets up, and the sunlight bounces off something in Connor’s blanket, the light shining in his eyes. Markus bends down, and pick the item from the blanket. 

It’s Connor’s coin. 

The feeling gets worse, and Markus closes his hand around the coin, rushing outside of the room. 

“Connor!” 

His scream is met with nothing but silence, and desperation grows and grows. He rushes through the church, not seeing anything but the empty space. “Connor!” 

The front door comes into view, and Markus doesn’t hesitate pushing it open and rushing outside. _No no no no no no please no._

The outside world is just as empty as the world within the church, and as Markus’ screams are once again met with silence, and the door falls closed behind him, he has to acknowledge the terrible truth. 

Connor is gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo chapter 2 :) 
> 
> If you have a few minutes please let me know what you think, it would mean the world to me :)
> 
> Thank you everyone who left kudo's and comments on the last chapter, it's super motivating <3
> 
> Thank you again [CipherLife60](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CipherLife60) for betareading, you are the best <3
> 
> See you next week!


	3. Birds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor has a rough time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that birds fly in different directions  
> And I hope to see you again
> 
> -[Birds](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOXZkm9p_zY), Imagine Dragons

**November 23, 2021**

**4:02 PM**

Connor is alone. 

Walking over the empty streets in a city he doesn’t know, in a _world_ he doesn’t know, that realization is a constant humming in the back of his mind. 

He tries to ignore it, tries to keep his mind solely fixed on his feet. One step before another. Just keep moving, keep going. 

But it’s so quiet. As long as he can remember there has been someone at his side. _Markus_ had been at his side. There’s always been a second pair of footsteps, a guiding voice when he didn’t know what to do, a steady hand to help him up when he fell down. 

And now Connor is alone. 

He couldn’t stay, not after he discovered it was because of him they were found. He was so stupid. Of course it was because of him. For a moment he had thought, he actually believed, that they did it, that they could get away. 

Of course not. 

And he had to leave Markus. He had to, because Markus did not deserve to go back there. 

Connor is lonely, cold, lost and so, so scared of what will happen when Perkins finds him, when he has to face Amanda. But at least Markus will be safe. 

If going back to Cyberlife and having to face everything alone saves Markus, then it’ll be worth it. 

In Connor’s mind it wasn’t even a choice. 

_But he wants to go back to Markus, he wants to feel save again, he doesn’t want to go to Cyberlife, he doesn’t want to be alone, he doesn’t want it he doesn’t-_

One step before another. 

He should stop soon, Connor knows this. A few hours ago, he waited near a store for a while. It took Perkins and his squad about four hours and thirty minutes to track him down. After that, Connor ran, carefully filing away this information for further use while relieved that at least now they won’t find Markus. 

The plan is to keep going as long as he can, stopping at several places to draw them away, and keep that up until... 

Connor may not know much about this world, but he has one certainty. He won’t go down without a fight. 

He should probably stop again, wait for Cyberlife to show up and move on. He doesn’t have any food, or water, nor the money to get some. 

So, in the cold winter air, he drops down on a bench in some park, and closes his eyes. Maybe staying here until he gets found wouldn’t be the worst plan. Surely Cyberlife wouldn’t let him starve, and he would be warm again... 

Connor only notices he drifted off when movement next to him sends adrenaline rushing through his limbs. He jerks his head to the side, ready to jump up and run, but instead of seeing a guard hovering over him, there’s only a man sitting on the bench. 

The man looks up at his sudden movement, old brown eyes taking in Connor’s slender form. 

“Relax.” The man says. “Not gonna hurt you.” 

Connor keeps his eyes on the man, distrust not completely leaving his face. “What do you want?” 

The man huffs, and shakes his head. “I want to sit on this bench. Is it yours?” 

“No.” Connor quickly says as he feels his body calm down again. 

Nodding, the man relaxes next to him, and he sighs. It’s silent for a while. 

“My name is Stan.” The man suddenly says. “What’s yours?” 

Connor hesitates for a moment, debating whether giving his name could be dangerous. He decides that it probably isn’t. “Connor.” 

Stan nods. “Why are you sleeping on a bench, Connor?” 

Connor shrugs, not wanting to answer. He’s so bad in social interactions. Markus would know what to say, how to act. Pain blossoms in his chest and Connor quickly pushes that thought away. 

"You on the run?” Stan continues. “Parents? Crazy girlfriend? Boyfriend? Something like that?” 

“No.” Connor says. “Nothing like that.” 

Stan nods, leaning back on the bench. “Problem with the law, uh?” 

Connor decides not the answer that, but rather keep his gaze on the ground, away from the stranger sitting next to him. 

Realizing he’s not going to answer, Stan continues. “Nah, is like, is non o’ my goddamn business.” A beat. “You got some place to go? Family, friends, somebody missin’ you?” 

“No.” Connor mumbles. “Well, there was someone but I-" Cutting himself off, Connor turns to Stan and repeats his question from earlier. “What do you want?” 

Stan chuckles and shakes his head. “I’m bein’ invasive, aren’t I?” Connor keeps looking at him. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to. You look lost, is all. Nothing wrong with a bit of company.” 

“I don’t need company.” Connor needs to go; he can’t stay much longer. He should probably head towards the station again, lead them away from Niles. He shouldn’t be talking to a stranger on a bench. 

“Do you need a place to stay?” Stan asks. “Me and a few friends are stayin’ in an old building. No one will look for you there.” 

Oh, how Connor wishes that was true, how badly he wants to just hide away from the world, and sleep somewhere warm. Sleep in a small bed in a moving train with Markus pressed close to him. Somewhere in the back of his mind Connor realizes he will never have that now, he’ll never see Markus again, never gets to make him smile or laugh or choke on a strange drink. Never gets to tell Markus how he feels. 

Tears start to build in his eyes, and Connor bows his head, frustratingly blinking them away. He can’t let himself feel this right now, he has to stay focused on the mission of getting away. He has wasted too much time already. 

He rises to his feet, angry at Stan for making him think about how he fucked up. “I need to get to the station. Do you know where it is?” 

Stan looks at him, sad brown eyes scanning Connor’s slender form. Then, he sighs. “Yeah, I do.” 

It takes a few minutes for Stan to explain the directions to Connor, and after thanking the man Connor is on his way again. His feet hurt, and the hunger in his stomach is getting worse by the hour, but he’s moving again. 

One foot before another, pushing the despair and bad thoughts away. It doesn’t take long before he reaches the train station.

* * *

**November 23, 2021**

**5:24 PM**

He is tired. 

Connor is so, so tired. 

He flops down on a chair inside the familiar train station, ignoring the ghosts of memories that linger there. A train just rolled in, and as the doors open to let people out Connor keeps his head low, not wanting anything more than just disappear. 

The station seems a good place to get caught. Maybe he can make Perkins believe Markus managed to get on a train, make him believe there is nothing left in Niles. That would be perfect, they’ll never find Markus. 

Maybe he can tell them they split up, Connor could pretend to know where Markus was. Tell them he went to Chicago or something. 

Maybe. 

Connor sighs, wrapping his arms tighter around himself. At least he’s out of the wind here. With every passing minute the dread in his chest grows. More than anything he wants to keep running and never stop, but he is so tired, and he knows he can’t stop the inevitable. 

So he waits, alone, on an uncomfortable chair in Niles, for his inevitable doom. 

It’s nearing seven pm when something changes. A train has passed through only minutes ago, and the station is now starting to drain, the last people leaving the platforms behind. 

But something is off, Connor can feel it in his bones; a deep sense of _wrong_ settled in there. 

He lifts his head, his vision partially blocked by the hoodie he pulled over his hair. 

There’s a man, leaning against a wall a few yards away. He isn’t moving like all the other passengers did, and Connor’s heart starts beating faster. 

Slowly, he gets up from the chair and starts walking towards the exit. He can see the man turn away, putting something black near his mouth. His lips move as he follows Connor’s movement. 

Connor swallows, fear starting to spread through his body. Another man walks towards him, heading onto the train station, and Connor pretends to look past him. Maybe it’s just another traveler, he doesn’t have to be with them, maybe he- 

But the man keeps his eyes on him, never once slowing down, and in a split-second decision Connor turns to the left and rushes in a random door. He can hear the footsteps of the man speeding up as quickly shuts the door behind him. There’s no lock, and Connor frantically looks around for something to block it with. 

He’s in a small bathroom, and there’s nothing here but a few restrooms and urinals. But, there in the corner, is a large cleaning cart, and not questioning his luck, Connor quickly pushes it in front of the door. 

Just in time, as a second later someone pushes against the door. Connor takes a step back, breathing heavy as he stares at the blocked door. 

“Can you open the door?” A voice asks. “I need to pee.” 

Connor recognizes the voice, it’s one of the guards from Cyberlife. He remembers that voice telling him to sleep as he locked the bedroom door. His heart rate speeds up, and Connor looks around for an exit. 

Just as he spots a small window on the far wall the pushing against the door turns into banging, and Connor can just make out the words spoken on the other side. 

“Go around.” The voice says. Then, louder; “Connor, open the door.” 

Panic seizes in his chest, and Connor has to act _now._ He knows he will get caught eventually, but now that the possibility is standing in front of him everything in his body is telling him _no, run, get out of here._

He moves to the window, and reaches out to inspect it. He could probably squeeze through if he breaks it, but if more guards are coming to the other side then it won’t do him much good. But maybe... 

Making a decision, Connor grabs a broom from the cart and smashes the window. He hesitates only a second before picking up one of the shards and rushes towards a stall, closing the door behind him as he climbs on the toilet seat to hide his feet. 

The sound of the cart being pushed aside as the door opens fills the small restroom, and Connor clamps one hand in front of his mouth as he uses the other to balance on the toilet. 

For a moment, the only sound he can hear is blood rushing through his ears as his heart hammers away, and Connor is almost sure the guard must be hearing it too. It takes ages, the footsteps of the guard move towards the window, still not making any other sound. Connor’s hand starts shaking as he tries to hold still. The guard will hear him, he thinks, there’s nothing but a thin wall separating them, if the guard decides to just check the stalls it’s over and Connor will be caught and handcuffed and- 

But then the footsteps turn around and the door closes once more. 

Connor wastes no time, jumping off the toilet seat and carefully peeking outside the bathroom door. He is just in time to see the guard rushing towards the exit, and he carefully steps outside. 

All his nerves are ready to jump into action as he slowly crosses the platform, certain that he will be spotted any moment. 

Somehow, he makes it towards the main entrance unnoticed, but when he tries to exit the building, a female guard spots him through glass doors. They stare at each other for a moment, and then she grabs her walky-talky. 

Connor can’t hear what she’s saying, but the movement is enough to snap him out of his panicked stance, and he runs. Back on the platform, past the train tracks and further away from the entrance. 

He makes it as far to get around the building, and after jumping over the low fence Connor runs towards the parking lot. He stops behind a car, trying to catch his breath as fear and adrenaline run through him. The shard of glass cuts in his palm, but Connor barely notices. 

Movement on the other side of the car has him tensing up again, and he slowly backs up, trying to avoid being seen. 

It doesn’t help. The footsteps come closer and soon enough a guard steps around the car, calling his location as soon as he spots Connor’s hunched figure. 

Connor turns around to run again, but the guard is faster, and grabs his arm. Acting on pure instinct Connor lashes out with the shard, and a surprised yelp from the guard tells him he hit something. 

Wasting no time, Connor starts running again, and he has to jump over the hood of a car to avoid another guard from grabbing him. 

He’s panting, eyes frantically darting around, as his legs work overtime to keep him going. _There’s got to be a way, he has to get out he has to he-_

When he turns to run past a large car his path is blocked by a guard, and Connor tries to turn and run back, but another guard is pointing his gun at him. 

He’s trapped. 

Refusing to give just yet, Connor grabs the shard tighter, and points it at whoever dares to step closer. 

More guards come closer, five in total, and they stand there for a moment, hunters and prey, until one of them steps forward. 

“Drop that, Connor.” A low voice says, way too calm for the situation. Connor could recognize it anywhere, and he slowly turns around, pointing his weapon at the face of Perkins. 

Unimpressed, Perkins looks at the shard, and the blood that drips from it, before sighing. “Amanda wants you alive, but she won’t mind if you’re a bit damaged.” 

Behind him, someone cocks their gun and Connor’s hand starts shaking. He doesn’t want to let go, he doesn’t want Perkins to get him, but he’s trapped, and he can feel the beginning of a panic attack in his chest. 

Perkins raises his eyebrows, and breathes in. “Okay, I’ll count to three before I have someone shoot you in the leg. One.” 

Closing his eyes, Connor takes in a shaky breath, and forces himself to open his hand. The glass shatters on the ground, and not two seconds later someone roughly grabs his arms and forces them behind his back. 

Connor can feel wetness growing in his eyes as his hands are cuffed together, but he refuses to let the tears spill. 

He opens his eyes as Perkins walks closer. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Connor hates his smug voice, _he hates it._ “Now, where’s is Markus?” 

Keeping his head down, Connor’s panic somewhat lessens as he remembers that Markus is safe. Perkins steps closer and grabs his chin in a gloved hand, forcing Connor to look at him. “Where is he, Connor?” 

Connor doesn’t respond, only raises his chin higher as his mouth curls into a small smile. He may have been caught, but they’ll never find Markus. At least he has that.

Perkins isn’t stupid, and he knows that Connor won’t talk, so he pushes his head away and starts to order his team around. “Bring him back to the van, and search the perimeter. He can’t be far.” Connor can’t help but feel slightly proud at the concealed anger in his voice. 

The guard that handcuffed him pushes Connor forwards, and half stumbling he makes his way over to a black van parked at the end of the parking lot. Before he gets pushed into the vehicle, Connor looks around at the rest of the guards, who are now quickly searching the area. He smiles, knowing they won’t find anything. 

When they reach the van, the guard unlocks the backdoor, never once releasing Connor’s arms, and pushes him inside. “Hold still.” The man says, voice irritated as he unlocks the handcuffs. “Sit down, give me your hand.” 

Apparently Connor doesn’t move fast enough, as the guard pushes him down and tugs his arms forward. 

Connor’s watches as his hands are cuffed once again and his blood starts dripping over the metal. A feeling of detachment starts to wash over him. That was it. In a few hours, he’ll be back in Cyberlife, alone, and he’ll have to face Amanda. For some reason, he feels nothing at that realization. Maybe it’s because he’s so tired, or so thirsty, or hungry, or cold. 

Or maybe it’s because he doesn’t want to imagine what will happen when he gets there. 

Connor doesn’t know how long he and the guard wait in the van, but his eyelids start to droop, and he contemplates just letting himself fall asleep. What does it matter anyway? There’s nothing he can do to change the situation. 

He is snapped out of his dozing state as the back of the van suddenly swings open, and an angry Perkins lifts him up by his shirt. 

“Where is he!?” The man snarls in his face, eyes filled with anger. 

Connor only tilts his head, lips tugged into a smile. “You won’t find him.” 

“You son of a bitch.” Perkins growls, and pushes him backwards, making Connor’s head hit the wall of the van, and a ringing fills his ears. “You tell me where he is right now, or I’ll make you regret it.” 

His head hurts, and Connor blinks a few times to make the world stop spinning. Perkins’ face comes into few once again, but Connor doesn’t respond. He has nothing to say to him. 

For a moment, Perkins stares at Connor, before he huffs and drops him back onto the bench. “Well, suit yourself. I bet Amanda will not be pleased with you.” 

Connor winces at the words, and keeps his gaze on the floor. He doesn’t want to see Perkins anymore, doesn't want to see how he exits the van and gets to walk where he wants. He doesn’t want to see two more guards entering before the doors shut and the outside becomes forbidden for him once more. 

A few moments later the van starts to shake, and soon they’re moving. Connor takes a shaky breath to conceal himself, he doesn’t want to break down here, with three guards staring at him from the opposite bench. 

Now it’s truly over, they’re leaving, and Markus will still be here. Connor has never been separated from Markus before, not for this long, and he feels something that’s never been there before. 

Despair he knows, pain too, same as emptiness and fear, but loneliness? That is new. 

He keeps his head down, eyes not focusing on anything as he feels his blood drips down his hand. The van is moving, and there is nothing Connor can do to stop it. 

He’s going back to Cyberlife.

* * *

**November 23, 2021**

**10:45 PM**

Connor doesn’t know how long they’ve been driving, but he is thankful for every minute he’s in the van and not at its destination. At some point one of the men guarding him treated his wound, not very efficient, but at least the bleeding stopped. 

He has dozed off a few times, but right now Connor is making an effort to stay awake. He guesses they must be almost there, and he wants to see the sky one more time before they drag him inside. 

It takes a few more minutes before the vehicle slows down, and Connor lifts his head, mentally preparing himself for what’s to come. Soon enough, the van stops and he can hear the front doors opening before footsteps approach the backdoor. 

It’s quiet for a moment, and then the doors swing open, revealing Perkins and the female guard. 

Perkins smiles. “Welcome home.” 

The guard move to drag him up and the moment Connor steps out of the vehicle, flanked by four guards, he realizes they’re not outside. The room looks like a garage, and Connor desperately turns around to at least try and catch a glimpse of the outside. _I’m not ready, wait, I don’t want to-_

Before he can even see the door one of the guards pushes him further, forcing Connor to follow Perkins into an elevator. Two of the guards don’t enter, but simply walk back to the car, where Connor can’t follow. 

There are no windows, no open doors, nothing to grant him a last glance at the world, and way to soon the elevator doors close, cutting even the open space off from Connor’s view. He suddenly feels claustrophobic, and his breathing speeds up as the elevator moves down. 

Once the elevator doors open again, Connor doesn’t move. The hallway that stretches out in front of him is the exact same hallway he and Markus ran through when they escaped. The looks and smells are so familiar, that panic quickly replaces the numbness Connor had felt, and he subconsciously takes a step back. He’s immediately pushed forward again as Perkins starts walking Connor and the guards follow him. 

The white walls pass by them in a blur. Connor doesn’t want to see them, the walls are suffocating enough already, he doesn’t need a visual reminder too. Instead, he just keeps his eyes focused on the dried blood on his handcuffs until the guards stop walking and he nearly bumps into Perkins. 

“Finish this up.” Perkins says to one of the guards. “Then meet us upstairs. We’ve got more things to do.” 

Throwing one last look on Connor, Perkins and the female guard walk away, leaving him behind with just one guard. His mind keeps trying to find ways out of this, trying to decide whether he can fight one guard or not, but he has to constantly stop himself. He can’t get out. Stop trying. 

A door slides open, and the guard takes Connor’s arm to push him inside. Connor doesn’t remember being in this room before, although it looks like any other place in Cyberlife. The walls are white and undecorated, and the only objects in the room are a table and two chairs. The camera in the corner tracks their every move. 

The guard makes Connor sit down on the chair opposite of the door and efficiently locks his handcuffs to the table. Without saying a word, he turns and exits the room, leaving Connor alone with his thoughts. 

He sits unmoving for a while, eyes staring forward, but not really seeing anything. A red light is blinking on the camera, and Connor knows he’s being watched. 

Eventually, he blinks and shifts his eyes to his cuffed hands. Would this be how he’s going to spend the rest of his life? Locked up and chained as a lab rat for Cyberlife? 

Maybe Markus will come for him, Connor thinks. Maybe he can get help, and get Connor out again, this time for good. 

Suddenly, the door opens, effectively breaking him out of that thought process. He looks up to see who enters, and his entire body freezes at the sight. 

“Connor.” Amanda says. “I’ve been expecting you.” 

Her voice is as collected as always, and Connor cringes at the sound of it. She’s wearing a white dress as usual, the bright color heavily contrasting with her dark skin. Dark eyes point themselves at Connor, and he clenches his fists to stop his hands from shaking. 

“I must say you surprised me, Connor.” Amanda says, slowly walking forward. “I should’ve expected this behavior from Markus, but not from you.” She stops in front of the table and folds her hands in front of herself, her eyes never leaving Connor’s. “You’ve disappointed me.” 

Connor looks away as he bows his head. _I’m sorry._

The apology almost escapes him, but he bites his tongue to keep silent. She doesn’t deserve it, getting away was the right thing to do. 

Amanda is silent for a moment, and then sighs. “I hope you understand these actions have consequences.” 

“So what?” Connor mumbles. He’s here already, stripped away of his freedom and autonomy. What else can they possibly do to him? 

“Look at me when you’re talking to me.” Amanda says, and Connor immediately lifts his head to look her in the eye, inwardly slapping himself for the automatic response. 

Now that her cold stare is directly pointed at him once again, Connor doesn't feel much need to repeat what he said. 

Amanda doesn’t seem to mind. “You seem... lost, Connor.” Her voice is kind, and Connor forces himself not to respond to it. “Lost, and perturbed. I understand that Markus has manipulated you, put these ridiculous ideas in your head and made you do these things.” She almost looks sincere. “I apologize, I shouldn’t have let it go on as long as I did.” 

Connor feels anger roar inside of him, and he leans forward in his chair. “All he did was tell me I had a choice. That’s more than you ever gave me.” 

His voice is rough, filled with emotion, but Amanda barely reacts. “Markus lost sight of what we are doing here, and he was determined to drag you with him. He doesn’t care about you, Connor. Why else would you be here alone?” 

“He’s not here because _I_ left _him!_ ” Connor shouts. “I realized what you were doing, how you found us, so I left him, I-” 

He cuts himself off, realizing what Amanda is doing. She’s just trying to get information, and Connor fell right into her trap. 

The corner of Amanda’s mouth twitches, and she moves to sit down, still staring Connor down. It takes all of his self-control to not squirm under her gaze. 

“You’ve been confronted with difficult situations.” Her voice is soft, almost soothing. “It’s no surprise you’re troubled. That doesn’t mean you still can’t do the right thing. Just tell me where Markus is, and we can go back to the way things were.” 

Connor lifts his chin up and looks her straight in the eyes. “No.” 

“You have nothing to gain by covering for him.” Amanda’s eyes are cold. “Don’t you want to see him again?” 

Feeling a sting in his eyes, Connor looks away. He clenches his jaw and presses his nails into his palms to keep his face even. The wound on his hand starts to sting. 

Realizing that Connor isn’t going to speak, Amanda changes tactics. 

“I’ll never allow this to happen again, you realize that, don’t you?” All kindness has vanished from her voice, now it’s only sharp and stinging, meant to hurt. “I have granted you too much freedom in the past, I will not make that mistake again. But perhaps I can be more relenting if you cooperate.” 

Connor shakes his head. He had accepted his fate the moment he left his coin on the blanket next to Markus’ head. Nothing Amanda will say can make him give her any information. 

Amanda seems to wait for a moment, letting her words sink in, but as Connor continues his silence she rises from her chair. “No matter. It’s only a matter of time before we find him. Then we can leave these unfortunate events behind us and Cyberlife can return to business as usual.” 

She turns away, but not before Connor sees her expression change. The collective calmness she has been portrayed during their conversation is gone, and although she doesn’t let it show openly, he can still see her mouth twitch into a sharp line. Connor has seen it often enough to recognize that look. 

She’s angry. 

“You have no idea where he is.” Connor laughs, making Amanda turn around again. “I was your only lead and now you can’t find him.” 

Her expression remains the same, but Connor can clearly see the fury that rises in her eyes. It used to scare him to death, but now the fire only fills him with relief. 

“We will find him.” Amanda says, but Connor knows she’s not convinced. “Not that it matters to you. You won’t see him again.” 

Connor frowns. “What do you mean?” 

Amanda lifts her chin up and the corner of her mouth curls up in a cruel smile. “He has become obsolete. The RK200 project has come to an end months ago, but I made sure he could stay, for you.” She sighs. “But seeing as that is no longer necessary, we can finally put an end to it.” 

“You can’t do that.” Connor’s voice betrays his distress, but he doesn’t care. “You can’t just get rid of him.” 

“I’m afraid I can, Connor. But that is no longer any of your concern.” She turns around. “We will continue our research tomorrow.” The door opens, and after Amanda left the guard enters once more. 

As he unlocks Connor’s cuffs and takes him away, Connor can only focus on Amanda’s last words. She can’t kill Markus, she doesn’t know where is, and she can’t find him. Markus is smart, he knows how to stay hidden. She can’t get to him. She can’t. 

As they walk through the white hallways that soon turn familiar, Connor keeps repeating that mantra over and over in his head until the guard opens the door to his and Markus’ room. 

Finally, his cuffs are taken off, but he doesn’t feel any freer when the door closes behind him. He doesn’t move from his position at the door, only lets his gaze travel over the room. His bed is made, and the clock on his nightstand is still in the exact same position as where it was before. On the other side of the room, Markus’ bed is a bit more ruffled, and Connor feels a lump settle in his throat. 

The room is exactly the same as when they left, and somehow that surprises Connor. His whole life has changed, but the room is still the same. 

Slowly, he takes a step forward, feeling as if the walls are closing in. He doesn’t bother walking over to his own bed, but carefully lowers himself onto Markus’. His movements are slow and careful, and Connor is afraid that if he changes anything the last bits of Markus will disappear, leaving him here all alone. 

He moves to take off his shoes, and as he sits back up he takes a deep breath, pulling his hoodie over his head. He won’t be allowed to keep it, he knows that. How long would it take before they take it away? 

After a few minutes of sitting there, Connor moves to lay down on Markus’ bed. He curls in on himself and pulls the sheet over his head. It still smells like Markus. The lump in his throat grows bigger, and he gasps for breath to conceal it. 

He is truly alone, and he’ll never see Markus again. 

_It's for the best,_ he tells himself. _Markus can be free now._

A soft sob escapes Connor, and he doesn’t bother covering it up. 

_But I wanted to go with him._

Curled up in Markus’ bed, hidden from the world and truly, truly alone, Connor finally stops fighting his tears, and lets himself cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for how long it took me to write this, but life suddenly got super busy and you know how it goes.
> 
> nevertheless, I hope this chapter was worth the wait, please let me kno in the comments! (you also give me life and motivation)
> 
> Once again thank you my dearest [CipherLife60](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CipherLife60) for beta reading <3
> 
> I hope to have the next chapter up next week, (this time for real) but if not just yell at me somewhere and it'll come. 
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading and till next time :D


	4. Stuck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 5 years later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time goes by and still I'm stuck on you  
> Why did you leave? Why did you go leaving me lonely?  
> Didn't you know you were the home, you were the only?  
> -[Stuck](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN7phWqsx1Y), Imagine Dragons

**May 13, 2026**

**3:55 PM**

****

Markus sighs as he stares at his reflection and tries to straighten his shirt for the hundredth time. He’s nervous. Has been nervous ever since the date was revealed last week. 

Today will be the result of three years of work, of testimonies and gathering evidence, of failure and successes, of long nights and emotions, and Markus entire body is filled with nervous energy. 

Today is the day the SWAT-team will invade Cyberlife and finally bring their dark secrets to the light. 

Today is the day he will see Connor again. 

Markus takes a deep breath, trying to keep the emotions that rise up at that thought at bay. There are still a hundred things that can go wrong, and he knows he has to be prepared for anything. 

A soft knock in his door forces him out his mind, and Markus turns around to see Carl entering the room with his wheelchair. 

“Almost ready to go?” The old man asks he pushes himself into the room. Markus quickly grasps Connor’s coin from his desk before standing up. 

“I was almost done, you didn’t have to come all the way up here.” Markus hadn’t been in his old room for months. Ever since he moved out he always stayed downstairs when he visited his adoptive father, knowing how much Carl dislikes the stairlift. 

“You’ve been up here for an hour.” 

An hour? No, it couldn't've been that long. Markus quickly checks the time, but the digital numbers confirm Carl’s words. _Oh._

“Nervous?” The old man asks, and Markus chuckles humorlessly. 

“Nervous doesn’t even begin to cover it.” 

Carl’s face softens, and he smiles at Markus. “You know I can still come with you. I don’t mind, and it would get me out of the house.” 

They begin to walk out of the room, making their way downstairs. “I know.” Markus says. “But Leo’s coming over today, and my friends will be there anyway.” He moves to help Carl attach his wheelchair to the stairlift as he speaks. “And it’ll probably take hours, you shouldn’t be out of the house that long.” 

“Alright, alright.” Carl grumbles as the lift takes him down. “Leave your old man on the bench. At least call me every now and then to keep me updated.” 

Markus chuckles. “I will. Thank you, Carl.” 

Carl smiles, knowing Markus isn’t just referring to today. None of this would’ve been possible if Carl hadn’t adopted Markus three years ago. He can remember the day as clearly as if it was yesterday. 

It had been raining, and Markus was roaming the streets with North like any other day when a man suddenly ran past them, onto the road. 

Markus remembers North screaming something at the man, and had thought that to be the last of it, when an oncoming motorcycle suddenly had to avoid the man, and crashed into a wall. He had thought someone would do something, but the few bystanders simply looked shocked or started to film. 

North had told him to just go, it was none of their business and they had more important things to worry about, but Markus couldn’t just walk away. 

So, he ran across the street and checked on the driver while yelling at someone to call 911. It was a surprise to see an old man underneath the motor helmet, and it was even more surprising to hear him shout and curse, telling Markus he couldn’t feel his legs. 

And that’s how Markus ended up in an ambulance alongside a stranger that would never walk again. 

Two months later Markus was allowed to stay in his house, keeping contact with North who rather looked after herself. 

Eleven months later he was proudly carrying the name Manfred, and after four more he began his fight against Cyberlife. 

He never would’ve been able to fight them if it wasn’t for Carl’s protection. If something happened to him now, he wouldn’t just be another nobody on the streets who disappeared. People would start digging, and that’s the last thing Cyberlife wanted. 

“Markus.” Carl’s voice brings him out of his head once again, and Markus realizes he has been staring into space for a while. “I know you have been waiting for this day for years, but I want to realize it might not be what you’re expecting.” 

Markus sighs and sits down on a bench in their huge hallway. “I don’t know what to expect, Carl.” He admits. “There are so many people involved, so many lives will change because of this, and all I can think about is whether I’ll be seeing him again.” 

Carl moves closer and takes Markus’ hand in his own. “You will. If not today, then tomorrow, and if not tomorrow then later. They can’t stop what you started anymore.” Carl’s voice is soft and reassuring as always, grounding Markus in a way only Connor ever could. “You know I’m proud of you.” 

Markus looks up, into Carl’s eyes, and he smiles. “Thank you, dad.” 

They’re silent for a moment, the only sound in the hall coming from the little birds in their cage. Markus doesn’t let himself think for a while, just sits there and enjoys the comfort Carl’s presence brings. 

A loud ping from Markus’ phone shatters the peaceful silence, and Markus removes his hand from Carl’s to check the message. 

“They’re here.” He says. “I should go...” He is hesitant, on hand Markus wants to leave right now, infiltrate Cyberlife himself and get Connor back, but on the other hand he is scared of what he’ll find. If he stays here at least a bad outcome won’t be known by him. 

“It’ll be okay, Markus.” Carl’s voice once again gets him out of his thoughts. “And tonight, you can finally introduce me to your boyfriend.” 

Markus shakes his head as he stands up, but can’t help the smile that hope puts on his face. “Not my boyfriend.” 

“Are you sure? With as much as you talk about him...” 

“Carl...” 

Markus opens the front door and pauses before he walks outside to give his father a look. “I’m just teasing you. I would really love to meet him.” 

“Yeah...” Markus agrees. “I really hope you’ll get to today.” 

Carl reaches up to place his hand on Markus’ arm, and Markus bends down to hug him. 

“It’ll be alright, Markus.” 

Markus starts to thank him again when a car horn makes him jump. As he turns around to the street he clearly sees North hanging out of the window of Josh’s car, and Markus shakes his head. “Guess that’s my cue. I’ll see you tonight.” 

Carl bids him goodbye, and Markus quickly makes his way over to the car. 

“Hurry up, grandma!” North yells at him as she waves at Carl. “We’ve been waiting for hours.” 

Markus shakes his head and checks the time. “It’s been two minutes, North.” 

“Whatever.” North turns back to her seat and Markus opens the door to step in the backseat next to Simon, who smiles at him. “Hi. You look nervous.” 

Markus returns the smile and straightens his shirt again as he feels some of his nerves settle in the presence of his friends. “Can you blame me? Hi, Josh.” 

Josh smiles at him through the rearview mirror and starts the car. 

“Way to make him feel better, Simon.” North chuckles as she fastens her seatbelt. 

Simon scoffs and folds his arms. “That’s not what I meant.” He turns to Markus, soft blue eyes reassuring. “You look good. But I can image you must be nervous.” 

Releasing a huff of air Markus lets himself fall back into his seat. “Thanks. And yes, I am. I just can’t stop thinking about all the possible outcomes.” 

“Well, you did all you could.” Josh says while keeping his eyes on the road. “You can’t change the outcome now, might as well try to stop worrying about it.” 

“Easier said than done...” 

“I say we force Anderson to let you come along.” North helpfully suggests. “You know the place best after all.” 

Markus shakes his head. “He isn’t in charge of who comes along, and Captain Allen has clearly given me his answer.” He sulks as he remembers pleading with the Captain to let him come, asking Lieutenant Anderson to vouch for him, arguing he could be helpful, he wouldn’t be in the way. 

The answer was and remained _no._

North turns around in her chair and her brown eyes focus on Markus. “I’ll fight him for you.” 

Simon snorts. “I doubt you can win against a SWAT Captain.” 

“Not with that attitude I can’t.” North turns towards Simon, but Josh suddenly grabs her arm. 

“You can sit still. I’m trying to drive.” He grumbles. 

North huffs but does as Josh says. “Trying being the keyword. I don’t understand how you got your license.” 

“Not everyone drives as reckless as you. It might come as a shock, but this is considered normal driving behavior.” 

“For an old man maybe. You’re 24 and drive like a grandpa.” 

Markus turns towards the window, sighing as he tunes their argument to the back of his mind. His hand slips in his pocket and his fingers glide over the coin hidden in there. 

In a few hours, he could see Connor again. 

His thoughts run over everything that has happened to get to this point, his first moments alone, how he ran back to the station and took the first train to Detroit, how he was kicked out and forced to stay in some unknown city. Then, how he met North, who had just run away from her abusive father and how they used the little money she had to get to Detroit. 

It was only when they got there, and Markus stood in front of the bridge that led to Belle Isle he realized he never stood a chance. He couldn’t just walk back in, then Connor’s sacrifice had been for nothing. He couldn’t fight them either, there was no way he’d win. 

He can clearly remember how he turned around and walked away, feeling as if he abandoned Connor to suffer alone. 

In the years that followed, Markus didn’t know how to deal with losing Connor, so he focused on getting him back instead. The not-knowing was the worst. He didn’t know if he had to keep hoping and fighting. He didn’t know if Connor had escaped on his own and was looking for him. He didn’t know if he had to mourn Connor, if maybe he had been murdered by the people they tried to escape. 

It was all he could do but to keep going, and focus on the one lead he had. 

He sighs, his breath staining the window. He’ll know. Before today is over, he’ll know. 

A hand on his arm breaks him free from his troubled mind and Markus looks up to Simon. 

“Are you alright?” 

In the front, North and Josh are still arguing about everything and anything, and Simon speaks soft enough for them not to hear it. 

Markus moves his head from the window and sits back up. “I don’t know.” He admits as Simon removes his hand again. “I don’t know what to be.” 

“That’s okay, you know.” Simon gives him a reassuring look. “It’s a pretty fucked up situation, and I honestly have no idea what to tell you. But,” He waits for Markus to look him in the eye. “No matter what happens, know we’ll all be here for you. _I’ll_ be here for you.” 

“I know.” Markus gratefully tells him. “And I don’t know why you all stuck with me throughout this insane thing. I-” 

“Okay.” North’s loud voice interrupts Markus. “Can you saps stop? We're here.” 

_Here_ means the Detroit police department, a building Markus has become quite familiar with over the years. The four of them enter the building, and the receptionist immediately lets them through. She doesn’t even bother telling them to wait at Lieutenant Anderson’s desk anymore, but just waves them away. 

A few officers in the precinct look up as they walk in, but most of them know the group of young adults, and only ignore or greet them as they make their way over to the desk. 

North immediately claims the chair behind the lieutenant's desk, while Josh sits in the unoccupied one at the other side. Simon moves to lean against the empty desk, but Markus is way too stressed to even consider sitting down. 

Instead, he starts pacing, constantly checking his phone for the time and messages from Anderson. It feels like an eternity, but after six minutes Markus’ pacing is stopped by a rough voice behind him. 

“Oh, Jesus.” 

Markus turns around, and finally sees the familiar form of the Lieutenant walking their way. 

“You brought the whole gang, huh? Jeffery’s gonna have my ass for having you in here.” The man complains, but North just huffs in response. 

“As if you care. You’re always nagging at him anyway.” 

“What I’m nagging about in none of your business. And just-” His hand quickly reaches out to snatch a Detroit Gears hat from North’s hands. “Keep your hands off my stuff. Markus, with me, and the rest of you, behave for fuck’s sake.” 

Simon hops off the desk, ready to protest, but Markus holds up his hand to stop him and shakes his head. They are already pushing the boundaries by being in here, and Markus knows the Lieutenant won’t hesitate to kick them out if he wants to. It wouldn’t be the first time. 

So he sighs, and follows Anderson through the precinct towards one of the meeting rooms in the back. 

The Lieutenant steps aside after opening the door, letting Markus through first. Inside, there’s a large table with almost all of the chairs are occupied by bored looking SWAT members, already geared up. 

On the head of the table stands the leader of unit 32; Captain Allen. He nods at Markus when he walks in, but continues to focus on the conversation he’s having with his team member, Lois, if Markus remembers correctly. 

Lieutenant Anderson closes the door, immediately blocking out the noisy precinct, and apart from the Captain’s voice the room is quiet. 

Markus walks further inside and sits on an empty chair, greeting the team as he walks by. Lieutenant Anderson ignores everyone, probably because he spent the entire morning with them, and flops down on his chair. 

Captain Allen finally stops his conversation, and moves his attention to the Lieutenant. 

“My people are ready to go. What are we waiting for?” 

“You know what.” The man huffs. “Confirmation and that kind of crap. And they want a final briefing.” 

Captain Allen shakes his head and leans forward on the table, looking over the blueprints displayed there. “A final briefing of what? We got nothing on this place.” 

He gestures towards the blueprints, making the rest of the team listen too. Markus suddenly feels very self-aware. The prints were made with information solely gathered from his memory. Some people matched his descriptions with the Cyberlife factory, and managed to create the layouts they have right now. 

They’re messy, parts are missing and Markus can’t say for a hundred percent that everything is accurate, not to mention his memory of the place is five years old. Who knows what’s been changed since then? 

“Markus.” The Captain’s voice brings Markus back to the room, and he looks at the man “Since we have to wait ‘till some fuckers are done with their paperwork, mind going through it again?” 

Markus nods and leans forwards towards the prints. He swallows before he speaks. 

“There’s an elevator which we used to get out, right over... here. I’m sure there are more ways to get in but I don’t know where. The elevator opens in a hallway, it’s pretty narrow and all white. There's a door here but I don’t know where that leads to. There’s also one over here and here but I don’t know about those either. The-” 

“Okay.” Captain Allen interrupts him and Markus looks up. “How ‘bout you stop telling us what you don’t know, and actually give us something useful here.” 

Markus tries not to squirm under the Captain’s gaze and forces himself to meet his eyes. 

“I don’t know what to tell you, Captain.” He says. “I already told you everything I know. Multiple times. But if you let me come along I cou-” 

Allen holds up his hand and rolls his eyes. “Fucking hell, how many times do I have to tell you? You’re not coming.” 

“Captain, with all due respect, I-” 

“Did I not make myself clear? The last thing we need on this mission is some kid who has no experience in _anything_ fucking up my team. You stay here.” 

“But I-” 

“Markus.” This time, it’s the lieutenant who interrupts him, and Markus turns to look at the man. Anderson stares right back, his eyes filled with understanding, but his expression clearly saying _drop it._

Markus stares at him for a second longer before giving up and leaning back into his seat, eyes downcast. 

It’s silent for a few moments, until Captain Allen speaks. “Alright, if no one has anything useful to add, we’re out of here.” 

He starts to move towards the door, his team hurrying to follow behind. Before he exits the room, he catches Markus eyes and nods, silently reassuring Markus that they got this, this is what they do. 

The moment ends too quickly for Markus to nod back, but he doesn't think Allen minds. 

When the unit has left Lieutenant Anderson gets up as well, making Markus follows suit. 

“Lieutenant.” He says quickly, but Anderson gives him a tired look. 

“You can’t come with me either, kid.” 

“But I don’t even need to come all the way, I can just wait in your car and I won’t be any trouble. You won’t even notice I’m there.” 

The lieutenant sighs and gives Markus a pitying look. Markus hates it. 

“You know I can’t do that, and I’m sorry, but you’ll just have to wait ‘ere.” 

Markus doesn’t look up anymore, just keeps his eyes trained on a crack in the table. He hates sitting here, doing nothing, while a SWAT unit is breaking into Cyberlife and getting Connor and the others out. 

“I’ll send your friends in. And I’ll text you any updates. Don’t spam me.” 

The lieutenant starts walking away, but Markus has to say something. 

“Hank.” The man stops in his tracks and turns blue eyes to Markus. “Thank you.” 

Anderson huffs and shakes his head. “Yeah, yeah. Just behave while I’m gone will ya?” 

Markus smiles and nods. “I promise, but I can’t say the same for North, though.” 

The older man huffs. “I’ll tell Reed to put her in a holding cell if she pulls anything. You can stay here until we get back. If all goes well, we’ll bring them here in a few hours.” 

A rush of emotions suddenly hits Markus at the words, and the realization that Connor could be here before the day is over makes him unable to speak. Instead, he just nods and watches Lieutenant Anderson leave the room. 

It only takes a few minutes for his friends to enter and sit down in the chairs around him. 

“Well.” Simon says. “They’re gone, all we can do now is wait.” 

“What did they want from you?” Josh asks Markus. 

“Not much.” He responds. “Just one last check, but it felt more like a time filler.” 

North laughs humorlessly. “Which is something we can use now. How long did they say it was gonna take?” 

“They didn’t. The Lieutenant will text me when there are any updates, but that’s it.” 

“Ugh.” North complains. “So what will we do in the meantime?” 

“We will wait.” Josh tells her. “It’ll only take a few hours, I’m sure you can handle that.” 

“You overestimate me. I’m going to steal Reed’s candy stash.” 

North gets up from her chair, but Markus stops her. “Anderson gave him permission to lock you up if you pulled anything.” 

“As if I’d get caught.” 

Markus is about to argue, but Simon beats him to it. “North. Just sit down. You need to be here now, not in a holding cell.” 

The two of them stare each other down for a few seconds, but eventually North relents and drops in her chair again. “Alright, fine. But what do we do then?” 

“We wait.” Josh repeats, and the room falls into silence. 

It only takes a few seconds before North has had enough. 

“Let’s order food.”

* * *

**May 13, 2026**

**7:12 PM**

In the end, they don’t order anything. Instead, Simon logs into his Netflix and they put a movie on the screen that’s normally used for presentations. 

It’s a good way to pass some time, but Markus can’t concentrate on anything that the characters are going through. His thoughts are completely occupied by the past and present. 

The last time he’d seen Connor he had been nineteen and Connor eighteen. That would make him 23 now. Markus tries to imagine the brunet with a more grown up face, but finds it to be nearly impossible. Would he still have those puppy eyes? Or have they grown harder in the years they’ve been apart? 

Maybe his freckles have disappeared some, as Markus’ had done. Maybe he even grew some more and is now taller than Markus is. Markus smiles at that thought. He hopes not, he always liked being just a bit taller, not enough to make much of a difference, but still enough to use it in arguments. 

His thoughts shift towards the possible future. Would their reunion be awkward? Or will it be like nothing changed at all? 

Markus sighs and drops his head in his hands, once again checking his phone for any texts. Apart from the confirmation that they went inside an hour and 41 minutes ago, nothing has new has come in, and it’s making Markus unbearably nervous. 

He lifts his head again to look through the room. He’s glad the small group of friends he managed to gather through the years are here with him, even if all they’re doing is watching a movie with him. It’s reassuring, making him feel less alone in this. 

It’s also a good way to get him out of his head. 

“I’m starving.” North announces when the characters on the screen throw the bad guy in a meat grinder. “Anyone else?” 

Josh hums his agreement and Simon stretches his arms as he sits up straight. Markus remains silent, his emotions making it impossible to feel anything besides a tight knot in his stomach. 

“I’ll go order something.” Simon fishes his phone out of his pocket and turns it on. “What do we want?” 

“I vote pizza.” North quickly responds. “Markus?” 

“Whatever you want, I’m not hungry.” 

Simon looks at him. “We’ve been here for three hours. You should eat something.” 

Markus nods and throws him a small smile, trying to reassure the blonde without giving in. “It’ll take some time for it to be here. I’ll get an appetite.” He doesn’t think so, but it seems enough for Simon, who starts ordering. By now he doesn't have to ask what everyone wants, they’ve ordered plenty of junk food for him to memorize it. 

“Got any news yet?” North asks him while putting her feet on the table. Josh throws her an annoyed look, but doesn’t say anything. 

“No.” Markus takes his phones from his pocket to check again. “Nothing sinc-” 

A new message stares at him from his screen. 

` Lieutenant Anderson 7:13 `

`Done here, on our way back `

He must’ve unintentionally turned his phone on silent when he put it back, how else would he have missed that message? He keeps staring at his phone for a while as he quickly stands up. His chair gets pushed back and nearly falls over in his rush. 

“What is it?” Josh asks as North quickly pauses the movie. 

“They’re on their way here. A minute ago, I missed it but they’re coming.” Markus rambles while walking towards the door. His heart is suddenly racing. “It’s a fifteen minutes ride, they’ll be here soon.” 

“Markus, wait-” Simon calls after him, but Markus isn’t listening, he just walks into the precinct towards the back. 

“Did he say anything else?” North asks as she rushes to catch up. 

Markus checks his phone again. “No, but that’s good right?” That means that there was nothing to report that went wrong, that means that everything went okay and Connor has been found. 

Right? 

“Nothing? Why not?” Josh’ voice is barely audible over the blood rushing in Markus’ ears. 

He mumbles his reply, but doesn’t listen to anything else that is going on around him. Instead, Markus only focusses on the personal entrance where he knows the SWAT unit and Lieutenant will come through in a few minutes. 

And he waits, and waits. 

When the clock on the wall reads 7:30 PM Markus can’t handle it anymore and starts to walk towards the doors. He is just about to walk outside to wait for them on the streets when the door opens and the familiar face of Captain Allen comes into view. 

He doesn’t realize he started walking until an officer holds him back from running right into the SWAT unit. Allen throws him a tired look, but doesn’t pay any more attention to him. 

Lieutenant Anderson is next to walk in, but Markus barely sees him when the doors open to unfamiliar faces. The Cyberlife jackets they are wearing are anything but unfamiliar, and Markus freezes in his tracks. 

Anderson says something to him, but Markus doesn’t hear it, his eyes are focused on the children walking into the police station. 

The first four are young, way too young for Markus to have known them when he was still there, and the knowledge that Amanda dragged more innocent children in that hell makes his blood boil. 

Then, a boy enters Markus _does_ recognize, even though they barely interacted in Cyberlife. Daniel’s blue eyes meet his own, and he stops walking for a moment. His confused look quickly becomes one of understanding, but before one of them can make a move a little girl that had been holding Daniel’s hand tugs on his shirt, and Daniel breaks eye contact to wrap his arms around her. They continue to follow the others. 

Markus doesn’t know the next girl that walks in, even though she is older than the rest. 

The rest of the SWAT unit enters and closes the door behind them. Markus keeps looking at the doors. The rest has to come in now, right? Why do they always insist on making Markus wait? 

“Markus.” 

It’s only when the Lieutenant grabs his arm he realizes his name’s being called. 

“W-” For some reason Markus’ voice fails him. He tries again. “Where is he?” 

“Kid,” Anderson says. “Let’s go somewhere private, alright?” 

Markus shakes his head, pulling his arm from Anderson’s grip. “Why?” He demands. “Just bring me to Connor.” 

“Markus...” North’s voice doesn’t sound right, it shouldn’t be so soft, so hesitant. 

“No, just-” his voice gives out again, but Markus doesn’t understand why. Why does it suddenly feel like there’s not enough air? Like the walls are closing in on him? He just needs to see Connor now, why are they still stalling? 

“Just take me to him now, I’ve waited long enough.” 

Lieutenant Anderson steps closer to him, holding out his hand. “I need you to come with me, okay Markus?” 

He keeps shaking his head. He doesn’t want to come with anyone, he just wants to go to Connor now. Why can’t he just go to Connor? 

Markus stumbles as he takes a step back, and his hands start shaking. He has to get out of here. 

Someone calls his name again, but Markus doesn’t respond anymore. If they don’t want to bring Connor here then he’ll just look himself. 

He feels a hand grab at his arm again, but it’s too slow, Markus has already turned around. 

He spots the exit, and runs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Yeah, I’m late and I’m sorry, turns out writing more characters and more plot is harder than it seems. Also the world is kinda crazy atm so there’s that. 
> 
> If you still enjoyed it please let me know by a comment, it motivates me a lot and you’d be super awesome if you did! (not leaving one is also totally fine no pressure <3) 
> 
> ANYWAY I would say next chapter next week but I cannot make that promise so you’ll just have to wait. SORRY 
> 
> And thank you to [CipherLife60](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CipherLife60) for supporting me and beta reading <3 
> 
> See ya!


	5. Not today

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Markus gets some information

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's gotta get easier and easier somehow  
> But not today
> 
> -[Not today](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trig1MiEo1s), Imagine Dragons

**May 13, 2026**

**7:46 PM**

****

Markus doesn’t know how he ended up here, but he isn’t planning on leaving anytime soon. 

It’s dark, in here, and the wall that is pressed against his back makes him feel secure. He’s sitting down, knees draw up against his chest and eyes staring into the dark closet he has hidden himself away in. 

His mind seems... blank. He isn’t really thinking about anything at the moment. He knows there is something bad going on, the constriction in his chest and tears on his cheeks are proof of that, but right now Markus is staring into the darkness, with nothing on his mind. 

He can hear his own breathing, in and out, in and out. It’s calming, and for the past few minutes he has been focusing on nothing but that. Every now and then footsteps from outside of the closet are heard, but Markus just keeps quiet, not wanting anyone to find him. 

People were calling his name, at some point, but Markus had kept silent. Eventually they gave up, and he could remain where he is. He is longing for something, but it’s outside of his grasp. It hurts. 

In and out. In and out. 

He doesn’t know how much time passes, but a sudden noise makes him jerk. His phone is ringing. He doesn’t move to answer or to silence it. Maybe he wants to be found right now, maybe he just wants it all to be over. 

The phone stops and then starts again and outside of the door he can hear voices, see the shadows of feet. His phone becomes quiet once more and now Markus can clearly make out the hushed whispers outside of the door. They’re arguing about something, but he doesn’t pay much attention to it. 

Eventually, some of the feet move away, until there’s only one shadow left. The door opens quietly and Markus buries his face into his knees. He only wants to see one person right now, and he knows it isn’t the one who is walking into his safe space. 

“Hey.” North’s voice breaks through the molasses in his mind, way too gentle for her normal standards. 

Markus doesn’t look up, but he can hear the door close and see the light disappear again from the corner of his eye. Something shifts next to him, and he feels North slide down the wall to sit close enough for their shoulders to be touching. 

It reminds him of their time on the streets, and it’s oddly comforting. 

North sighs, her voice filling the small room again. “I’m sorry, Markus.” 

Markus takes a shaky breath before lifting up his head. “Did they tell you anything?” His voice comes out hoarser than he expected it to be. 

“No,” North says. “We were all looking for you.” 

“Sorry.” He chuckles, wiping one hand over his face. “I just... I don’t know.” 

“Are you ready to come out?” 

“Not yet.” 

“Okay.” 

They fall into silence, and Markus leans against her shoulder. They are both familiar with this, unfortunately. In their years on the street they both relied heavily on each other. 

They both have their demons, and they always came out to play when it got silent. In moments like that, the other could do nothing but be there for their friend, sit with them in silence and let them know they wouldn’t leave. 

Most of the time, they didn’t speak. Sometimes words just aren’t enough. 

It takes a few more minutes for Markus to get his thoughts in order, even though they keep getting interrupted with worst case scenarios. He doesn’t push them away, however. The possibility of them being true is too large for that. 

Eventually, Markus dares to speak again. “How long did you tell them to wait?” 

He feels North shrug against his shoulder. “I told them to fuck off. They’ll wait as long as they have to wait.” 

Markus smiles, and slowly lets his breath escape. “Thank you.” He pauses. “I really made a scene, didn’t I?” 

“A little.” She admits. “But they all understand. You don’t have to do anything, you know? If you want to go home, we can go right now.” 

No, Markus thinks. He needs to know, no matter what it is, what they found. Markus needs to know. 

He pushes himself away from North and sits upright. “No, I want to know.” He stands up, holding out his hand for her to grab. “Let’s just get this over with.” 

After North gets to her feet they exit the dark closet and she leads him back to Hank’s desk. Markus can feel everyone’s eyes on him, but he tries not to care. It’s hard. 

Simon and Josh throw him pitying looks when they spot them, and Markus looks away, putting his focus on the Lieutenant instead. 

“Hi.” Markus mumbles, suddenly feeling incredibly self-conscious. “I’m sorry for-” 

The lieutenant immediately cuts him off by raising his hand. “Nah.” He says. “Don’t apologize. You ready to continue?” 

To continue. It’s not over yet. Just because Connor isn’t here doesn’t mean all is lost. 

Markus nods, moving to sit in the empty chair next to Lieutenant Anderson. The man waits a second before he starts speaking. 

“Alright, let’s start with what we’ve got.” He starts, not looking at Markus but scrolling through a file on his terminal. “SWAT team entered the building at 4:25 PM, quickly making several arrests. We’ve got five guards and two scientists, one of those fuckers tried destroying evidence as we got in, don’t know how much he got rid of. They got some tech guys figuring that out.” 

Lieutenant Anderson sighs and leans back in his chair. “They got seven of ‘em out.” He gestures towards his terminal, where pictures of the children Markus saw earlier are displayed. “Still need to talk to ‘em, you know anyone?” 

Markus nods, and points towards the blond man on the screen. “That’s Daniel, he was RK600.” He looks at the lieutenant. “What about the rest? And Amanda? Did you find her?” 

“No trace of anyone else.” Anderson says, confirming Markus’ fears. “Amanda wasn’t there either, my guess we just got bad luck and she’s got a day off or somethin’.” 

Sighing, Markus slumps into his chair, eyes downcast. 

“It’ll take some time to go through all of the evidence in that shit hole.” Lieutenant Anderson continues. “Won’t take long before we can build a case against her. As for the rest-” He pauses, looking at Markus. “There’s tons of evidence in there, files and documents and all that stuff. If there’s anything about them, we’ll find it.” 

“Do you think there will be anything?” Simon asks from the other desk. 

The lieutenant seems to consider this for a moment and he fold his arms. “Probably. Wouldn’t make sense if they got rid of any data, since they were doing research to God knows what. Look,” He spins his chair to look at Markus. “I know it might not seem that way to you right now, but what we did here today is huge, alright? Whatever happened to Connor, we’ll know.” 

A lump forms in Markus’ throat, and he simply nods, not looking the lieutenant in the eye. He takes a deep breath before he dares to say anything. “The RK’s, are they still here?” 

Anderson nods and frowns at the question. “Can I speak to Daniel?” 

“Ehm...” The lieutenant scratches his chin, thinking. “Actually, no, you’re not exactly authorized to do so. But-” He holds up his hand to stop Markus who was about to argue. “Let me see what I can do.” 

He gets up and walks to the back of the precinct, disappearing behind a door, leaving Markus with just his friends. 

Markus takes a deep breath and releases it slowly, trying to ease some of the tension in his body. 

“Are you okay?” Simon asks as North sits down in the lieutenant’s chair. 

Markus looks up to Simon and nods. “Yeah, I think so.” He slumps down in his chair, suddenly feeling exhausted now that the waiting is over. “I’ve been waiting for five years, what’s a little longer?” 

“Right.” Josh says. “With all the evidence and information they found it shouldn’t take long now. A few weeks, a most.” 

A few weeks, Markus thinks. It seems so long, even though compared to the five years, it’s nothing. 

“Either way,” North says. “We totally busted them. Bet they didn’t see that coming.” 

Markus chuckles humorlessly. Yeah, they did that, didn’t they? Somehow it doesn’t feel like a victory. 

It takes a few minutes for the Lieutenant to return, and when he does he tells Markus to come with him. The rest has to stay, or leave the precinct. Of course, they all stay. 

Anderson leads Markus to one of the interrogation rooms, and behind the one-sided mirror Markus can see Daniel, sitting alone at the bare table, looking angry. 

“There you go.” Lieutenant Anderson says. “He’s agreed to talk to you, but he isn’t obligated to tell you anything. If he wants you out, you leave, got it?” 

Markus nods, suddenly feeling nervous. He never talked much to Daniel, he always spent most of his time with Connor when they were in the common areas, and when he didn’t Daniel never showed much interest in anyone. 

That, and it’s been five years since they’ve seen each other. 

“Alright, door’s unlocked.” 

At the lieutenant’s words, Markus walks to the door, only hesitating for a second before entering. 

Daniel’s blue eyes meet his when Markus steps through the door, making him hesitant to sit in the chair on the opposite side of the table. Daniel’s eyes keep following him as he does so, not saying a word. 

“Hi.” Markus begins, breaking the tense silence. 

Daniel looks at him for a while, and Markus can only guess what horrors those eyes have seen, what he’s been through. 

Eventually, Daniel leans back in his chair and folds his arms. “I thought you were dead.” 

Markus doesn’t really know what to say to that. He opens his mouth to try, but nothing comes out. Daniel continues. 

“I suppose those guys getting us out of there was your work?” 

“Yeah.” Markus answers. “I wish I could have done something earlier. I’m sorry.” 

The blond man looks away, clenching his jaw as he does so. He sighs. “I guess I owe you a ‘thank you’ for that.” 

Markus shakes his head, but drops the subject for now. “Daniel.” He starts. “The others, do you know where they are?” 

Daniel’s eyes slide back to Markus’, and he shrugs. “No idea. They all disappeared, like you.” 

“Disappeared how?” 

“As in they were gone, from one day to the next. And of course, no one would tell us anything. Started after they got in the new kids. I bet I would’ve been gone too, if this shit hadn’t happened.” Daniel gestures around the room, looking not at all pleased that he’s in here. Markus would also rather not have the conversation here, but this is what he’s given, so he’ll work with it. 

“And you don’t know where they are?” Markus presses. 

“Are you even listening to me? I said I have no idea.” Daniel snaps. “Now you tell _me_ something. Where the hell am I? What’s going on?” 

Markus frowns. “They didn’t tell you?” 

A snort escapes Daniel, but Markus doubts he finds it funny. “They kept telling us the same shit. ‘It’s okay’, ‘you’re safe now’, ‘no one is going to hurt you’, all that crap, and nobody says anything useful, of course.” 

“Right.” Markus nods, quickly throwing a glance to the mirror, wondering if there's anything he isn't allowed to tell. “You’re at the Detroit Police Department, I’ve been working with them for three years to get you guys out.” 

“And what happens now?” Daniel asks. 

“You give a statement. They need everything they can get to take Cyberlife down for good. And after that...” Markus hesitates, not sure about the after. “You’re free to go. You’ll get help, of course, to intergrade into society, but you’ll be free, you can make your own choices.” 

Daniel doesn’t respond to that, and Markus understands. The concept of freedom and making your own choices can be quite overwhelming when you’ve been locked up your whole life. Eventually, the blond looks at him again. 

“When can I go back to Emma?” 

“She’s the girl you came in with?” Daniel nods at the question. 

“Whenever you want. If you want to go now no one will stop you, but-” Markus doesn’t break eye contact, hoping to get his point through. “I would really appreciate it if you could tell me a few more things.” 

The other man considers this for a while, before he gestures Markus to go ahead. 

Markus takes a deep breath before leaning forward. “When was the last time you saw Connor?” 

“Ehm-” Daniel thinks for a moment. “We barely saw him after you were gone. He told us what you guys did.” 

Markus’ heart constricts for a moment as he realizes this is the first information he got about Connor after he last saw him. It hurts, the confirmation that Connor was in fact caught and brought back to Cyberlife. God, how much Markus wishes things had gone differently. 

“At first, I thought they got rid of him too, but then he returned after Traci vanished. That was, what, a year after you left?” Daniel looks angry again, and Markus feels guilt wash over him once more. Why couldn’t he have done something sooner? 

“Then it was Rupert, five months later. Then Ralph, pretty quick after that. They got some new kids in-between, and Connor vanished two months later.” 

Three years. Daniel hasn’t seen Connor in three years. Markus can feel despair spreading through his entire body. What does that mean? Where are the others? 

“Look, Markus.” Daniel’s voice breaks through his growing despair, making Markus look up again. “Whatever happened, happened. I can never thank you enough for getting us out but-” He pauses, eyes slightly guilty as he looks at Markus. “You’re too late. The others are gone. All we can do now is take care of those that are still here.” 

Markus shakes his head, refusing to believe that. “We have all the evidence from Cyberlife, all their files and data. They’re somewhere, and I’ll find them. I can’t just give up now.” 

“You haven’t been there for a long time. You haven’t seen what I saw.” 

“I’ve seen plenty!” Markus snaps, standing up. “I’ve been in there too, Daniel. I know what it’s like, remember? And I’m not just going to give up while Amanda is out there hurting Connor!” 

Realization dawns in Daniel’s eyes, and he folds his arms, meeting Markus’ anger with his own. “That’s all that matters to you, isn’t it?” He accuses. “Connor. If he hadn’t been caught again you would’ve happily left us all to die there, wouldn’t you?” 

Markus opens his mouth to protest, but no sound comes out. Wouldn’t he? That was their plan, wasn’t it? Get out, lay low, and never get caught again. Together. 

He likes to tell himself that if they found a secure place and people they trust he would’ve fought back but... somewhere he knows he never indented to do that. All Markus had wanted was to get out with Connor, and have a life of their own. 

Daniel laughs humorlessly. “You have no idea, what it was like. Everyone was gone, Markus. And then those new kids came in, not older than five for fuck sakes. And I could do nothing for them but wait for some miracle to come for them.” He leans forward in his chair, blue eyes hard and accusing. “And there you are, and all you can think about is Connor.” 

All anger drains from Markus’ body, exhaustion taking its place. Exhaustion and guilt, making him lean heavily on the now empty chair. “I’m sorry.” He says, voice soft. “I can’t change the way things went and I can’t change what was done to you. But you’re right.” Markus decides to be honest with Daniel, the other man deserves that much. “I am still looking for him, and I’m not going to stop, I can’t.” 

He removes his hands from the chair, standing straight once more. “Wherever my motivations came from, you’re free now. That’s all I can give you. I’ll ask someone to take you back to Emma.” 

He doesn’t want to look at those angry blue eyes anymore, he doesn’t want to be in this room anymore, confronted with his past and the consequences of his actions. So, he turns around and walks towards the door. Daniel doesn’t say anything, but Markus can feel his eyes bore holes into his back. 

He quickly shuts the door, and doesn’t look back.

* * *

**May 16, 2026**

**11:57 AM**

****

The next few days are surprisingly uneventful. The past week, Markus has been living in constant anticipation and stress, but now that the Cyberlife infiltration has happened, those feelings have vanished. 

He knows, now, and although once again all he can do is wait for any updates, Markus feels more relaxed than before. 

He spends most of his time at Carl’s, enjoying the reassurance that the presence of his father brings him. Now, however, he has chosen to be in his own apartment, to take some time for himself. He is the only one of his friends that’s lives alone, and although his apartment isn’t bigger than a living room with an attached kitchen, a bathroom and a bedroom, Markus loves the place. 

It’s his and his only, and it’s the perfect place to be when he needs time for himself. 

Right now, he’s sitting on his bed, propped up against his pillow with a sketchbook resting on his legs. The warm sunshine that enters his window bathes his room in a nice, bright light while also warming him. 

He’s been drawing the entire morning, not really thinking about anything, his mind only focused on the movement of his pencil and the shapes that it forms. 

It’s when Markus finishes the eye he’s been drawing that his stomach growls, making him realize he should probably get some lunch. 

He puts away the sketchbook and gets up, stretching his limbs as he does so. Maybe he shouldn’t have stayed in the same position for hours, Markus thinks. He slowly makes his way through the silent apartment, trying to remember what’s left in his fridge. 

Not much, he finds out after opening it. Unless he wants to eat one egg with mayonnaise, he has to change tactics. North lives closest to him, maybe she wants to go out for lunch or something. They could check out that new place that opened two weeks ago, now that they finally have time. Perhaps Josh and Simon have time to tag along as well, despite their shared apartment being further away. 

Markus takes his phone out of his pocket, but before he gets a chance to call anyone a text message pops up. 

`Lieutenant Anderson 12:01 `

`You home?`

Markus stares at it for a while, wondering why the lieutenant would text him that, and his mind immediately starts coming up with possible scenarios. He forces himself to stop, to not get too excited, and quickly responds. 

`Yes, why?`

Lieutenant Anderson immediately reads it, but doesn’t respond, making Markus frown. Guess that means his lunch plans are out of the window. He knows better than to text the lieutenant again, experience shows he won’t get a response anyway. 

Sighing, Markus puts his phone away again, making sure to keep the sound on in case Anderson decides to text him again. He turns to his nearly empty fridge once again, and decides that it’ll have to do. 

The lonely egg gets disposed in his pan, and Markus desperately tries to remain in the mindset he has been in for the entire morning by adding salt and pepper to at least try and make something out of it. It doesn’t really work, the text from lieutenant Anderson has set his mind and body off, and every two seconds his thoughts drift back to what it could mean. 

The lieutenant never comes to his house, if there was any progress on the case, or they needed information from Markus he was always called to the station. Why would Anderson ask if he’s home? Maybe he’s sent a package or something? 

Markus sighs, turning off the heat as his egg is finished and he puts the rather disappointing meal on a plate. Perhaps he should watch some tv, that could help with getting his mind off things, right? 

He is just about to sit on his couch when the doorbell rings, and any hope of getting some distraction vanishes as he opens it to a cautious looking police lieutenant. 

“Hi.” Markus says, raising an eyebrow in question. 

“Can I come in?” The man huffs, not paying any attention to Markus’ questioning look. 

“Be my guest.” Markus steps aside, and lieutenant Anderson steps into his apartment. 

Anderson shakes of his coat, draping it over one of Markus’ chairs before turning to Markus. “Thanks.” 

Markus closes the door again and faces the lieutenant. “Not that I mind you being here, lieutenant.” He starts. “But does this visit have a reason?” 

A sad smile crosses the older man’s face, and Markus suddenly notices how tired he looks. With the new developments in the case the workload for him must’ve gone up drastically. 

Lieutenant Anderson hums, taking a package out of his coat. It’s about the size of a paper, making Markus guess it’s a file of documents. “Right here. Mind if we sit down?” 

“Yeah, here.” Markus gestures towards the kitchen table, and he sits down opposite of the lieutenant. “So, what’s that?” 

Anderson puts the white package down and looks at Markus. “Right. So, the last few days we’ve been through a shitload of evidence, most of it regarding research about the kids we found.” 

He pauses, and Markus nods, wanting him to move on. “Now, a few hours ago we got to these files, stored away pretty well. Thought they might be old, and turns out; they are.” He grabs the package on the table and quickly rips the top open before carefully taking out one file. “This one seemed pretty familiar.” Anderson shoves it to Markus, and he slowly takes it. 

The Cyberlife logo is the first thing that catches his eye, big and ugly on the front. He folds it open, revealing the first page. The big black letters make his heart skip a beat. 

**` RK200 ` **

Markus swallows thickly as he turns the page, ignoring all the other information on the first one. A picture of himself stares at Markus from the pages, much younger than he is now. He quickly scans over the information, noticing the date; 12 February, 2007. That must’ve been when he was first brought into Cyberlife. 

“I haven’t had time to read through it yet.” Lieutenant Anderson continues as Markus browses through the file. “But I figured you might wanna see it. I can take back if you don’t.” 

“No, I-” He stumbles over his words. “I’d like to read it. I’ll bring it back when I’m done.” 

“Yeah...” The lieutenant looks away. “It’s not the real thing, I copied it, but you’re not really supposed to have it. So, I’d appreciate it if you could keep it a bit low, alright?” 

Markus smiles at that and looks up from the file. “Of course. I’ll just, burn it or something.” 

“You do you. I got ya one more thing.” He reaches in the package again, revealing another package of files, similar to the one Markus is holding. He slides it over to Markus, face serious once more. 

“I don’t know the details of what’s in it, but since you kinda know what’s been going on in there anyway, figured you might as well have it.” 

Pulling the file towards him, Markus carefully turns the first page. It looks exactly the same as his own, except... 

**`RK800`**

His breath hitches, making Markus look up at the lieutenant. “Is this...?” 

He doesn’t wait for a response, but turns another page, and suddenly Connor’s face stares back at him. 

Markus is frozen for a moment, his hand subconsciously reaching out to trace the picture. He looks exactly like he did when Markus last saw him, with that brown hair that never behaved, and those freckles on his milky skin, those deep brown eyes, always sparkling with life. 

“Markus.” Lieutenant Anderson’s voice interrupts his thoughts, but Markus doesn’t look up at him. “As I said, I haven’t read them yet. I don’t know what’s in there, you might not wanna-” 

“No.” Now, Markus does look up, eyes determined and a hand placed protectively on the files. “I know what Cyberlife is capable of. I can handle it.” 

They stare at each other for a while, and Markus knows he has to show the lieutenant he’s sure. Because he is. It doesn’t matter what’s in the file, Markus has to know what he sentenced Connor through. 

“Alright.” Anderson finally caves. “I’m trusting you with this, don’t make me regret it.” 

“I won’t” Markus promises. 

Nodding, the lieutenant stands up and grabs his coat again. 

“So, ehm, besides this,” Markus gestures towards the files. “Is there any other progress? Do you know how much longer?” 

“Nothing new.” Anderson huffs while shrugging on his coat. “And you know I’ll tell you when we do.” 

Markus sighs. “Yeah. Thank you, for this.” 

“Don’t mention it. Seriously, don’t.” Markus understands the hidden warning. He’s is absolutely not authorized to have these files, and he can’t tell anyone about the lieutenant dropping by his house. 

It doesn’t matter, it’s a secret Markus is more than willing to keep. 

After lieutenant Anderson has left his apartment and Markus is alone once more, he takes his now cold lunch and sits on the kitchen table again. For a moment, all he does is look at Connor’s picture again, not quite ready to move any further yet. 

_Where are you, Connor?_

A longing starts in his chest as the memories come back. Why couldn’t they just be happy? Why did they have to be the ones that were doomed to this life? 

Taking a bite of his cold egg, Markus reaches out and flips the page. 

`23 July, 2009 `

The page is full of information about Connor; name, height, weight, age, blood type, all of it. Markus remembers that day, although not for any reasons stated on this page. 

He clearly remembers it as the day he got a roommate. 

It was difficult, getting that quiet six-year-old boy to talk to him, but Markus was determined to win his trust. Maybe throwing a pillow in his face wasn’t the best course of action, but one pillow fight later and Connor was laughing. It was the beginning of their friendship, their bond that would only grow with the years. 

Smiling sadly at the memory, he turns to the next page which contains the descriptions of Connor’s physical examination. Markus sighs, and begins reading through years of research and experiments, each new page revealing the details of Connor’s time in Cyberlife. 

Some things Markus never knew about. Sometimes Connor didn’t want to talk about what happened to him, and Markus always understood. Sometimes he didn’t want to either. 

Other things Markus remembers as clear as day, such as the first time Connor got surgery. Seeing it all described in detail in front of him is something else, though. 

Time slowly crawls by as Markus reads trough years and years of experiments done to his friend. It hurts, focusing only on the worst parts of their lives in there, the memories and experiences both of them tried to ignore as much as possible. 

It hurts even more when Markus passes the time stamp of when they escaped. He gets to know exactly what Connor’s been through since they got separated. Nothing much changes about the information in the files, but knowing Connor went through it alone, without Markus to help him through it makes the young man physically ill. 

He got more surgeries, Markus reads, about a year after they escaped. It gets harder to read as Markus progresses, he doesn’t understand most of what’s described, but he knows Connor suffered. 

It’s almost five PM when Markus’ stomach rumbles, but he ignores it. He’s nearing the end of the file, and he’s hoping, waiting for any information of where Connor might be. 

As he turns to the next page, a new section, new experiment starts, and Markus checks the date. 

` 2 January, 2023 `

He’s noticed it before, he’s been through 14 years of data, and there are only a few pages left. There is no way the last three years are stuffed in there, which means there is information missing. 

Which is awful, because that means they need to find another file to figure out where they took Connor. Maybe they took him and the others to another location, maybe there are clues in the files of the other RK’s. If there are, Lieutenant Anderson will find them. 

Markus sighs, leaning his chin on his hands as he stares at the file in front of him. How much longer is this going to take? Hasn’t it been long enough? 

Rubbing his eyes, Markus continues reading. This time, the experiment consists of another surgery. Another two pages that describe how the cut Con’s head open and how they prodded around in his brain. It makes Markus’s blood boil. 

Eventually, after another 30 minutes, Markus reaches the final section of the file. He takes a deep breath before reading it. If there’s any information, any clue, any hint of where his friend is, it will be in here. 

` 14 January, 2023 `

The first part starts like any other; Connor’s serial number, his information, the doctors present and the equipment used. But, as Markus continues to read about how they set up the experiment, how ‘the subject was uncooperative’ and how they started the experiment, he comes across things that he hasn’t seen before. 

Sure, there’s been experiments that Markus doesn’t understand anything about, but memory upload sounds strange, even to him. Nevertheless, he keeps reading. 

` 10:04 begin memory upload sequence `

The comments are short and to the point, like every other section, and Markus quickly scans over them, careful not to miss anything that might be of importance. His heart squeezes painfully whenever one of them describe Connor’s reactions. 

` 10:06 Subject still uncooperative, adding additional restraints `

`10:20 Subject has calmed down, procedure is running smoothly `

`10:38 Subject shows signs of discomfort `

`11:31 Subject shows signs of pain after several glitches `

`11:53 Subject has calmed down after glitch resolution `

`12:19 Subject seems confused `

`13:10 Memory upload complete `

Markus closes his eyes for a moment. This section had so much more notes on Connor than any of the other experiments, and Markus doesn’t know whether he should be glad or not. 

It hurts, it hurts so much to read about Connor’s suffering, but Markus owes Connor that. He could’ve just given the files to Lieutenant Anderson and be done with it, but that wouldn’t be fair. He can’t just turn a blind eye, not when Connor went through this for him. 

He reopens his eyes, ignoring that they feel wetter than before, and continues his reading over the final part. 

There’s a lot of technical talk, terms and descriptions Markus doesn’t understand, but the final sentences are about Connor again. 

` 13:32 Project finished `

`13:35 Administering 10 g of liquid pentobarbital to subject `

`13:35 Administering 7 g pancuronium bromide to subject `

`13:36 Administering 5 g potassium chloride to subject `

There’s only one note left. 

` Time of death: 13:39 `

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why this keeps taking me ages to write but..... I hope ya'll can forgive me :)
> 
> I meant to have some more story in this chapter but as it was already taking me so long I figured I just post this first.
> 
> Soooo please let me know what you think of this, it would mean the world to me!
> 
> See you next time, probably around two to three weeks, but ill do my best to get it done sooner!
> 
> All the love to [CipherLife60](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CipherLife60) for beta reading and supporting this <3<3<3


	6. Fallen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor celebrates his 15th birthday, Markus reacts to the news

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Every morning  
> I'm staring shadows in the eye  
> Oh, good morning  
> Will you just wait until I die?
> 
> -[Fallen](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Zo1_BvKa7A) , Imagine dragons

**August 15, 2018**

**6:45 PM**

The sound of a pen scratching on paper is interrupted as Markus glances over his shoulder for the hundredth time. He’s spent days slowly gathering the items for this, and he isn’t about to let one of the guards take it away from him. 

They used to have paper and drawing materials here, he remembers, but after Ralph stabbed someone with a pencil, the guards decided to remove those items. 

Three days ago, Markus quickly took a pen from a doctor when he was getting his checkup, and managed to keep it hidden since. He’d rather have a pencil, but the pen will make do. 

Getting a piece of paper was harder, since all the documents are heavily guarded and watched during the experiments, and Markus had been afraid he wouldn’t get one in time. But luck has been on his side today, and he managed to snatch a single document after today’s testing when the doctor kicked over a glass. 

The paper got rumbled, and the backside is filled with information Markus couldn't care less about, but it was paper, and that was enough. 

Now sure that he isn’t being watched he turns back to the table, shoving his book aside to look at the dog that is beginning to form on the paper. He sighs, as he tries to remember whether dogs have white in their eyes or not, and quickly looks at the clock. 

He doesn’t have much time anymore, but he has to finish it today. 

Because today is Connor’s birthday. 

Markus and the others are seated in the common area, where they can relax for a bit and play games or read books, but Connor isn’t present. Usually, when that happens, Markus would hate it, but now it’s giving him time to finish his present and he’s silently thankful for the timing. 

Suddenly, the book that has been shielding his drawing from the guards is snatched away. 

“What are you hiding there?” Traci asks, holding the book out of Markus’ reach as he desperately covers up his drawing. 

“Nothing.” He tries to snatch the book back, but Traci tosses it to Rupert. “Give it back.” Markus hisses, trying to keep a low profile. 

Rupert considers it for a while, but he shakes his head. “First tell us what you’re doing.” 

No one moves for a moment, causing Traci to sigh dramatically. “We’re not gonna rat you out, just show it.” 

Markus looks around again, before slowly moving his hands away. The brown-eyed girl immediately grabs it. “Awww.” She coos. “That’s so cute. But why are you risking punishment for a cute dog?” 

“Because,” Markus takes the paper back, making sure not to rip it. “It’s Connor’s birthday, and I need to finish this before tonight.” 

A huff comes from the other side of the table, making the three look up to the blond boy sitting there. “You never make anything for my birthday.” Daniel says, not looking up from his book. 

“That’s because no one _knows_ your birthday.” Rupert responds. 

Blue eyes glance over the cover, their expression carefully shielded. “And you will never know. I don’t need anyone risking anything for me.” 

“Such a hero.” Traci says sarcastically, causing Daniel to roll his eyes. Markus suspects he simply doesn’t know his birthday, just like Markus did before he and Connor picked a date and celebrated it ever since. Daniel must have his reasons to keep refusing that. 

“Anyway,” Traci turns to Markus, the overhead light making her blonde hair almost look blue. “You keep drawing, we’ll keep an eye out for the guards, right Rupert?” 

Rupert looks shocked, eyes darting around. “What? Don’t include me in this.” 

“Pussy.” The girl teases. “Then it’s just me, Markus and Ralph.” 

She and Markus look over the other table where Ralph is sitting, quietly speaking to himself while holding a pillow. No one knows what exactly happened to him, but one day he returned to the cafeteria with a huge burn on his face, and hasn’t been the same since. 

Somewhere, Markus doesn’t want to know. 

Turning his attention back to their own table, Markus smiles at Traci. “Thanks.” 

In the hour and fifteen minutes that they have left he manages to finish the drawing. He wishes he’d have more time to add some details, but it’ll have to do. The small puppy jumping for a butterfly looks good enough. 

On his way to his room, Markus quickly sneaks by the cafeteria, and as promised the cook is standing there; a small lady with black hair and a kind face. Markus had practically begged her to make something for Connor, and she quickly gave in. Of all the people working in Cyberlife, she is the only one with some humanity in her, and Markus doesn’t even know her name. 

When she spots Markus, she lifts her hand and takes a small cupcake from the plastic bag she’s been holding. 

“If you’re caught,” She says while handing it over. “I was never involved.” 

Marks nods, carefully accepting the little cake. It doesn’t have a wrap around like they usually do when they have them for dessert. They can’t leave any evidence behind for the guards to find. 

Markus looks at the cook. “Thank you, really.” 

She finally smiles. “It’s birthday flavor. Now shoo.” 

Markus returns her smile and quickly turns to rush towards his room before a guard sees him. 

He makes it into the small space without any trouble, and he quickly places the cupcake and drawing into his drawer, the only other piece of furniture they have besides the beds. 

He sighs, tension finally leaving his body. He did it. Now it’s just waiting for Connor. 

It’s nearing ten PM when the door finally opens and an exhausted looking Connor steps into the room. Markus waits until the guard closes and locks the door before standing up from his bed. 

“Hey.” Connor offers him a tired smile as Markus helps him walk to his bed. 

“Are you feeling okay?” Markus asks once Connor is seated. 

The brunet hums, letting his eyes droop. “They were trying to connect some stuff to whatever they put in here.” He points at the scar on his head, letting his fingers slowly trace it. “It just took very long.” 

Markus grimaces in sympathy before patting Connor’s shoulder. “Don’t go to sleep just yet. I got something for you.” 

“What?” Tired brown eyes look up at Markus, and the older boy can’t suppress a smile. 

“Close your eyes.” Markus walks towards his drawer. 

“Markus...” 

“Just do it.” 

Connor sighs, but does as he’s told and Markus can see the corner of his mouth turning slightly upwards. “No peeking.” Carefully, Markus takes the cake in one hand, the drawing in the other and goes to stand in front of his friend who has moved further onto the bed. 

“Okay.” He says. “You can look.” 

Connor opens his eyes and the smile that spreads on his face makes Markus grin. “Happy 15th birthday.” 

Connor’s eyes go wide before he makes a futile attempt at looking serious. “Did you get into trouble for this?” 

Markus rolls his eyes and sits on the bed next to Connor, folding his legs underneath him. “Please, do I ever get caught?” 

Connor raises his eyebrows and his lips part to remind Markus about all the times that yes, he did get caught, but Markus places his hand over Connor’s mouth before he can speak. 

“Shush. Take your presents.” 

The brunet shrugs Markus’ hand away, revealing his smile. Markus holds out the drawing, gesturing for Connor to take it. 

He watches in anticipation as Connor turns it over and sees the puppy drawn with blue ink. 

Connor lets out a gasp, eyes darting over the paper, getting brighter and brighter the longer he looks. Markus takes that as a good sign. 

“It’s beautiful.” Connor breathes. “When did you even have time to draw this?” 

“Guess you’ll never know.” Markus laughs as Connor squints his eyes at him. “Here.” He holds out the cupcake, and Connor carefully takes it. “It’s birthday flavor, like in that movie.” 

“Birthday’s don’t have a flavor.” Connor states while breaking the small cake in half. He offers half to Markus, but the older boy refuses. 

“I got it for you, you don’t need to share.” 

The brunet rolls his eyes and grabs Markus’ hand, pushing the half in it. “I _want_ to share. Now eat it.” 

Markus chuckles. “Yes sir.” 

Both of them are familiar with the chocolate flavor of the cupcake, but the frosting and sprinkles on top add a delicious, sweet and new taste to it. Markus tries to eat slowly to savor it, but all too soon the cake is gone, the crumbs on his fingers the only evidence left that it ever existed. 

He looks back up to Connor and has to laugh. Connor frowns at him. “What?” 

Markus shakes his head and reaches out. “You have a little-” He carefully wipes some blue frosting from Connor’s cheek while shaking his head. “And here I thought you were the neat one.” 

Connor leans back against the wall, a grin on his face. “It’s my birthday. I’m allowed to be sloppy.” 

“Sure. Did you like it?” 

Connor hums, letting his tired eyes close and clutching his drawing in one hand. “Thank you.” 

The gratitude in his voice makes Markus smile, although it has a sad undertone. He wishes Connor wasn’t too exhausted to properly enjoy his birthday. He wishes he could give him a real puppy, give him a large cake and an actual party, like those described in the books. 

He wishes they could get out of here. 

There has to be way, and if there is one, Markus will find it. 

But for now, he will focus on Connor. 

“Hey.” He gently shakes his friend’s shoulder. “Where do you want to sleep?” 

The brunet slowly opens his eyes again and looks at Markus. “Here. With you.” 

Markus nods, a warm feeling spreading in his chest as he moves to take off Connor’s shoes. After placing them by the door Connor goes to lie down, drawing still in held tight. 

“Here,” Markus says. “I’ll put it away.” 

Connor shakes his head. “They can’t find it.” 

“I’ll hide it.” 

He considers this for a while, before nodding and letting Markus put the paper in his drawer. The room won’t be cleaned for two more days; it’ll be safe in there. 

Connor has already pressed his face in Markus’ pillow, so the heterochromatic boy takes Connor’s and places it next to the brunet’s head. With that done, he puts his blanket over Connor and crawls next to him. 

“I’ll make them give you a day off next year.” Markus whispers while flicking the bedside light off. 

He can’t see it, but Connor’s smile is evident in his voice. “Sure.” 

“What? You think I can’t do that?” 

“I think,” Connor’s voice is equally low, his breath swiping over Markus’ face. “that you’ve given me the perfect gifts already.” 

Markus huffs. “Well, that’s the beauty of birthdays. Next year, you’ll have another.” 

Connor doesn’t respond for a while, and Markus starts to think he has fallen asleep when a hand slowly grabs his. “Thank you for this.” 

Markus smiles sadly, moving a little closer and gripping Connor’s hand tighter. “Goodnight Con.” 

There is no response, and Markus listens to Connor’s breathing for a while, realizing that this time he has fallen asleep. He sighs, lying awake for a few more minutes as he strokes his thumb over his friend’s hand. 

One day. One day he’ll get them out. 

He yawns, pulling the blanket closer over his shoulder. 

For now, he sleeps next to Connor, holding his hands and pretending that tomorrow won’t come. 

Sighing, he closes his eyes and gives in to the sleep.

* * *

**May 16, 2026**

**7:05 PM**

No. 

No no no no no. 

Markus closes his eyes the second he reads the final line, but it’s already burned into his mind. 

`Time of death: 13:39 `

It has to be something else. It has to be, maybe- maybe it’s something, maybe a thing they put in Connor, when- when they did the last surgery. Maybe that died. Because the chemicals- 

He can’t breathe. 

Gasping for air, he opens his eyes again and gets confronted with the sentence once again. 

` Time of death: 13:39 `

With shaking hands Markus reaches for his phone and before he realizes it, he’s already called Lieutenant Anderson. While he desperately waits for the Lieutenant to pick up, he rereads the final part again. 

And again. 

And again. 

Nothing changes, and there is nothing to indicate that something, anything but else but Connor is- has- that Connor didn’t- 

“Yeah?” 

Anderson’s voice cuts through Markus’ thoughts, making him jerk up and almost drop his phone. 

“The other files. About the RK’s.” His voice is shaking badly, but Markus barely notices it. “How do they end?” 

“Ah, kid.” The Lieutenant’s voice sounds weird. Maybe it’s because Markus is pressing the phone so hard to his ear. “I’ve only read two of them, we shouldn’t discus this over the phone, you-” 

“How do they end, Hank?” 

The Lieutenant sighs. “They’re dead, Markus. I’m sorry.” 

Markus doesn’t say anything. He can’t. His hand starts shaking harder and his eyes feel wet, but his mind is blank and he can’t speak. His body seems to realize something terrible has happened, and yet not a single thought comes to mind. 

He slowly lowers his phone, not really registering the Lieutenant’s voice that’s still audible from it. He puts it away and his hand reaches out to file, flipping it back to the first page, where Connor’s photo is displayed. 

Brown eyes stare at Markus, unmoving and forever frozen in time. Markus reaches out to trace the picture, not feeling the paper beneath his skin, not feeling the air slip past his lips as he breathes. Not feeling anything but a horrible, horrible pressure on his chest and stinging in his eyes. 

_You’re too late. The others are gone._

_They’re dead, Markus. I’m sorry._

_Time of death: 13:39_

Markus’ mind blanks. 

He doesn’t know how long he sits there, staring at the table, at the picture, with nothing registering in his mind. 

He hears the door of his apartment open, but it never registers what that means. He hears footsteps approach him but he doesn’t respond. He hears a voice saying a word but he doesn’t know which one. 

It isn’t until a hand touches his shoulder that he can hear himself gasp for air. He blinks a few times, slowly coming back to his body and immediately regrets doing so. It hurts. 

It hurts so bad, why would someone force him to come back to this? 

“Markus.” The voice sounds again, this time Markus can make out the word, the name. His name. It’s North’s voice, he realizes. That’s good, North is good. 

He slowly looks up from his chair until he meets her brown eyes. His lips move before he knows what he’s saying. 

“He’s dead.” 

North doesn’t speak, but only nods while stepping closer. Arms wrap around Markus’s hunched form and he leans forward until his head is resting on her stomach. 

“Connor is dead.” The words are no louder than a whisper, but suddenly Markus’ mind catches up with his own voice. _Connor is dead._

A sob tears itself from his throat, and suddenly Markus is crying, sobbing against North’s chest. His hands move to grab her shirt, trying to grasp onto something solid, something that’ll keep him from drowning. 

North can’t support his weight, causing Markus to slide off his chair and together they sink to the floor. North keeps holding him, a solid rock in this ocean of despair, but it isn’t enough. 

Markus gaps for breath, tries to speak, to make her understand. _Connor is dead Connor is dead Connor is dead._

“I want him back.” He sobs against North’s shirt, clenching his eyes shut, not wanting to be here anymore. “I just- I just want him back.” 

North’s hand comes up to the back off his head, rubbing smooth circles and calming him, grounding him amid the storm. North being here helps, but Markus still feels so incredibly alone, so full of despair, that he doubts he’ll ever get out of this again. 

He doesn’t know how long they sit there on the floor, Markus sobbing and whimpering while North shushes him. Eventually his tears dry out, leaving him exhausted and drained, but that awful empty feeling of despair is still there. It’s the same feeling he had when he woke up alone in that church, all those years ago. 

This time it’s worse. 

A few minutes after Markus calms down North speaks. 

“Do you want to go to Carl?” 

Markus exhales shakily, but doesn’t respond. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t know anything anymore. 

North waits for a few seconds before realizing Markus won’t respond. “Okay.” She says. “You don’t need to do anything, but we can’t stay on the floor. Come on.” 

She slowly unwraps herself from Markus, making him cling to her tightly. North ignores his grasps and stands up, pulling a reluctant Markus with her. Together they shuffle through the apartment to the couch and Markus sinks in the cushions. 

He keeps staring, not really looking at anything until North squats in front of him. 

“Markus.” He looks at her. “I’m going to call Josh to pick us up, and we’ll take you to Carl’s, alright?” 

Her words don’t register. North has brown eyes, like Connor has. Had. 

Markus bites the inside of his cheek and turns his head away. From the corner of his eye he can see North standing up and moving around, but he doesn’t care. 

Why did it have to be Connor? Why couldn’t Markus save him? 

Three years. Connor has been dead for three years and Markus hadn’t even known. He had been out here, living, making friends, going to movies and having fun, while Connor had been locked up, was suffering and eventually killed. 

He should’ve been faster. He should’ve tried harder. He has failed Connor, and now he’s dead. 

_Connor is dead._

Markus buries his head in his hands. How can he ever live without Connor? Knowing that Connor died for him? 

North slumps down next to him and leans against his shoulder. 

“This sucks.” 

Yeah, Markus agrees, it does. 

It takes some time for Josh to get to the building, but when he does Simon’s with him. North gets him outside and he gratefully sinks into the hug Simon offers him. Maybe he can hide in here forever, in his friend’s embrace where the outside world can’t reach him. Maybe if he focusses really hard on Simon’s arms and Josh’s hand on his shoulder he doesn’t have to think about Connor. 

Unfortunately, they don’t give Markus that oblivion, and Josh’s hand disappears as Simon pulls back. They lead him to the car, making him sit in the backseat. 

Markus doesn’t remember much from the ride. One moment he is sitting between North and Simon and the next he’s walking through the front door of his father's house, watching Carl come into view. 

Markus stops in front of the old man and opens his mouth to say something, but Carl only shakes his head and places his hand on Markus’ back, leading him away from the entry and towards his bedroom. 

Carl’s room used to be on the second floor, but after much arguing he agreed to start occupying a similar room on the first, so that he didn’t have to use the stairlift as much. It’s bigger than Markus’ own, a lot less organized, too. Markus always liked coming in here, it carries a certain sense of safety with it. 

Along the way, Simon, North and Josh remained behind, and when the door closes behind Carl, they are left alone. 

“Come on.” Carl says when Markus doesn’t move. “Sit down.” 

Markus sits down on the bed slowly, afraid that if he makes a wrong move he will shatter again. 

Moving his wheelchair around the room, Carl stops in front of him, old eyes looking into Markus’ own. 

“North called me.” He says softly. “She told me what happened.” 

Markus sucks in a breath and looks away, tears filling his eyes once again. “They killed him.” He whispers. “He’s gone.” 

Carl reaches out, his hand coming to rest on Markus’ shoulder, making Markus draw strength from the simple touch. “I miss him so much, and all these years he’s been-” 

Markus can’t say it again, and his sentence ends in a sob. Carl’s grip tightens and Markus looks in his father’s eyes again, suddenly feeling so, so much younger. “I don’t know what to do, dad.” 

All Carl can offer is a sad smile. “It’s going to be okay, Markus.” 

“How?” 

The old man moves a bit closer. “It’ll take time.” He starts. “It’ll keep hurting for a long, long time, and even then, it will never go away, not fully.” Markus bows his head, making a tear spills from his eye and start rolling down his cheek. “But you’re strong,” Carl places a hand on his face, lifting it back up. “And you're not alone. You will make it through this, and eventually, it will be okay.” 

“I don’t want this to be okay.” His voice carries more than just grief now, it carries anger. “I don’t want- I just- I just want Connor back.” 

“I know.” Carl shushes him. “I’m sorry.” 

Another sob escapes Markus, one filled with despair and helplessness. All these years there’s been something to cling to, something to work towards. But now, there is nothing he can do. He can’t even say goodbye. 

Leaning forward, Markus rests his head onto Carl’s chest and the old man wraps his arms around him. His tears keep falling, and Markus wonders if he will ever stop crying. 

The low sun is shining its light through the window when Markus finally pulls back and wipes his eyes. They feel sensitive and puffy, and don’t seem to have the energy to remain open anymore. 

“I’m tired.” Markus says, hands grasping at the soft blanket. 

“You can sleep here.” Carl offers. “And I can let as many or as few people in as you want.” 

Markus tries to smile to show his gratitude, but doesn’t get much further than a twitch of his lips. He doesn’t think he’ll ever smile again. As he kicks off his shoes and lays down, Carl reaches out to pull the blanket over him, making Markus feel like a child again, protected and safe in the bed of his father. 

He wants to apologize, to insist he can take care of himself and that Carl shouldn’t strain himself, but Markus simply can’t find the energy to do so. Instead, he presses his face into the pillow, watching as Carl moves around the room to close the curtains and block out the light. 

“Will you stay here, please?” His voice sounds so much softer than he intended, but Markus doesn’t care. He only cares about the soft smile that grows on his father’s face and the reassurance in his eyes. 

A wrinkled warm hand takes Markus’ in his. “Of course.” Carl says. “Go to sleep, Markus. It’ll be better tomorrow.” 

Closing his eyes, Markus does what he’s told.

* * *

**May 21, 2026**

**10:14 AM**

_“Hey, I know I’m leaving too many messages but since you're not picking up- which is perfectly fine, you really don’t have to, just ignore this if you want. But ehm..._

_Anyway, I just wanted to let you know I’ll be there tonight again, with Josh, for as long or as short as you want. So yeah. And I guess I wanted to check up with you. Again. I’m- I’m worried about you, you know? So just, call me back. Or don’t if you don’t feel like it. But if you do, I’m here for you. Whenever you need, okay?_

_I- I guess I just wanted to let you know that._

_Okay, I’ll stop rambling now. I just hope you’re doing better. See you tonight. Bye.”_

Markus clicks the message away after Simon’s voice stopped. 

It didn’t get better the next day. It also didn’t get better the day after that, or the next. Markus had withdrawn himself into his room, and barely left it. People came in, asked him if he wanted anything or if he could just come out. Markus always sent them away. 

He never had to leave his room, as people kept bringing food up. He never had a real appetite, but when North came, she’d only leave after he ate something, so he forced himself to at least try. 

They tell him how good he did, that it’s not his fault. That all the other children are free now because of him, that the people who did this to them will face justice. Markus is glad, of course, but he doesn’t find himself caring much. No matter how many children he got out and how many secrets now see the light, the rest is still dead. 

Connor is still dead. 

Lieutenant Anderson gives him updates on the case. The children are being sent to foster families, they’ll get a good life, he promises. Daniel and Emma get to stay together, and they’re doing their best to keep most of them together. Markus couldn’t help but feel a sting of jealousy when he heard the news, but overall he is happy for them. Cyberlife won’t be able to hurt them anymore. 

They can’t find Amanda, Lieutenant Anderson says. It’s as if she’s vanished in thin air. Nobody has any idea of where she is, the guards won’t speak, and neither will the scientists. 

It frustrates Markus to the bone, and he tries not to think about it. He had waited for Amanda to be brought in, for her to finally pay for what she did. To look at her, and let her know that even though she took everything from him, he’s still here. He’ll make her regret ever laying a hand on Connor. 

But the day never comes. Anderson tells him he’ll have to be patient, that eventually, they will find her, along with evidence to lock her away for good. Markus doubts it. If they haven’t found her by now, why would they find her later? She probably fled the country the moment everything fell apart. 

It doesn’t matter anyway. Even if they found her, even if she was sentenced for her crimes, it wouldn’t bring Connor back. Nothing can do that. 

Markus presses his finger harder in the edge of Connor’s coin as his thoughts once again strive down that path of hopelessness. 

He sighs, moving his eyes from the outside world to the coin that glisters in the sunlight. He’s sitting in the windowsill of his room, from where he can overlook Carl’s gardens. The weather’s nice, but he doesn’t feel the need to go outside. He’s just sitting here, as he has been for the past days, thinking. 

He flips to coin around his fingers and the sunlight bounces off it to sting in his eyes. It’s the only thing he has of Connor. There’s no grave, no memorial, no videos, no nothing. 

Nothing besides some notes in a file and a five-year-old picture. The coin is the only thing that belonged to Connor, the only thing from _Connor_ , from the person, not from the test subject they made him. 

Markus’ hand starts shaking, as it has done many times over the past few days, and tears sting his eyes. He doesn’t want to cry again. He doesn’t want to be here, he doesn’t want this to be real he doesn’t- 

With a shout, he throws the coin to the other side of the room, where it knocks against a small vase that shatters on the floor. 

Markus ignores the sound it makes and buries his face in his hands, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down again. As he does so, his hands suddenly feel empty, making panic spread through his chest. 

In one swift movement he jumps off the windowsill into his room to search for the small coin between the glass shards. 

Where is it? It has to be here, it has to, he needs it, it’s Connor’s, he needs to have it. 

“Markus?” A familiar low voice sounds from behind him. “What are you doing?” 

Markus goes to sit on his knees and turns his head to face Carl. “I-” He stutters. “I dropped his coin.” 

He sees Carl’s gaze move towards the floor, to the shards that are shattered there and bites his lip. He doesn’t know why he lied, why he doesn’t want his father to know he threw it. 

“Be careful you don’t cut yourself.” Carl rolls his wheelchair closer to Markus, and together they look over the shards, searching for the round object. “Let’s clean this up, that’ll make it easier to look for it.” 

Markus nods and carefully starts to collect the glass. He hands the largest pieces to Carl, who throws them in his trash can. He'll get the vacuum cleaner for the smaller ones later. 

“I’ve been thinking,” Carl says as they work. “Maybe you should get out of the house for a while. Go somewhere with your friends.” 

Markus is silent for a moment, considering. “I don’t know.” His voice is still soft, he can’t muster the energy to speak any louder. 

“I can’t hurt to try, right?” Carl tries. “Being cooped up in here all day isn’t doing you any good either.” 

Markus shrugs, letting his hands fall by his sides. 

“You could go to our cabin, I already called Simon to get some food there.” Carl throws the last shards in the bin, turning his chair to fully face Markus. “It would get your mind off things for a while, especially with the case still going on.” 

“I don’t really feel like going out.” He doesn’t really feel like doing anything. 

Carl sighs, and once again Markus feels that sting of guilt he has been feeling every time he sent someone away or declined an invitation these past days. 

“You don’t have to.” Carl continues. “But I also called your therapist. I want you to start seeing him again.” 

To this, Markus nods. He’d been thinking about it, too. He had been skeptical about therapy when Carl first suggested it to him, but he quickly learned how much it helped him. He had less frequent meetings over the last year, with his mental health getting much better as he learned how to deal with his trauma. 

But now, it feels like going back to square one. 

And then there’s also that other thing... 

“I’m afraid of moving on.” Markus says, looking at Carl from his kneeled position. “I can’t stop thinking about it. Everything I’ve done since I got out of there has revolved around him and now...” He lets his shoulders slump as those horrible thoughts once again swim through his mind. “I keep thinking, now I can move on, find a different goal in life, go to school, get a job and all of that but- but I don’t know if I can.” 

Taking a deep breath, Markus blinks away his tears and continues. “It feels like I’m betraying him. But I can’t stop thinking about moving on.” 

Carl shakes his head, a sad smile on his face. “You’re not betraying him, Markus.” He says in that reassuring tone. “I know it’s hard to accept that, but eventually you will have to move on, and I think that is exactly what Connor would want for you, don’t you think?” 

Markus presses his lips together as his vision becomes blurry. He focusses on his father’s words instead. 

“And he will always be a part of the life you’re going to live.” Carl reaches to the floor and presses something in Markus’ hands. “You’ll live, and be happy, for him.” 

Opening his hand, Markus sees the familiar silver of the quarter pressed in his palm, and he wipes at his eyes. “Thank you.” 

Carl reaches out, his hand softly squeezing Markus’ shoulder. “I’m going to bake some eggs, want to help an old man out?” 

Markus manages a tiny smile, feeling better than he has these past days. “Yeah, sure.” 

He stands up, looking over the shards that are still lying on the floor. He’ll clean them up later. 

Dropping the coin in his pocket, Markus grabs his father’s wheelchair and together they make their way to the kitchen. 

Somehow, it surprises Markus that everything still looks the same. It feels like his world should be different now, but it’s comforting that it’s not. 

Carl keeps talking while Markus does most of the baking. His low voice rambling about his annoyance for cocktail parties makes Markus’ smile softly while cracking the eggs. It’s nice, calming, and Markus feels like he can properly breathe for the first time in days. He’s just about to take the bacon when his phone starts ringing. 

“Who is it?” Carl asks, not bothered that his story got interrupted. 

Markus quickly checks his phone. “Lieutenant Anderson.” He looks at Carl, apologetic. “I’m sorry, I should probably...” 

Carl waves him away. “Pick up your phone, I’m not completely helpless yet.” 

As Carl turns away towards the stove, Markus answers the call and walks towards to living room for a little privacy. 

“Hello, Lieutenant.” 

“Hi. Ehm-” The Lieutenant’s gruff voice fills Markus’ ear, and he waits patiently for the man to speak. “There’s been some... developments within the case you might want to know about.” 

“Did you find any leads to Amanda?” Markus knows not to get his hopes up, so he just waits, refusing to let any news ruin his somewhat happy mood. 

“No, nothin’ like that.” Anderson says. “It’s ehm- I shouldn't tell you this over the phone, but-” He pauses, making Markus frown. “Are you alone?” 

“No, I’m with Carl.” Unease starts to creep into Markus’ chest no matter how much he tries to suppress it. “Why?” 

A sigh. 

“Daniel got shot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will I even end a chapter without a cliffhanger? Stay tuned to find out
> 
> ANYWAY hello again! I hope you like this chapter! I also really want to take a moment to thank everyone who left me comments on the previous chapter, (or any of the others) the reactions and support really blew me away and just <3<3<3 thank you so much! Also reading everyone responding to the last line was just great >:D
> 
> And as always thank you so much to my dearest beta reader [CipherLife60](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CipherLife60) for all the support and Minecraft cats.
> 
> See you next time!


	7. Bleeding out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Markus gets bad news again, Hank is a police lieutenant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When the hour is nigh  
> And hopelessness is sinking in  
> And the wolves all cry  
> To fill the night with hollering
> 
> -[Bleeding out](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcMU_iT9aDM), Imagine Dragons

**May 21, 2026**

**10:59 AM**

“Shot? Shot how?” 

Disbelieve is clearly audible in Markus’ voice as he tries to understand what’s being said to him. 

“Happened twenty minutes ago, they’re rushing ‘im to the ER, but... it’s not looking good.” 

“Wait, wait.” Markus starts pacing, moving one hand over his head. “How did he get shot? Who shot him?” 

He hears the Lieutenant sigh on the other end of the line. “That’s the thing, we’ve got no idea. It was a sniper, no one saw anything. He and Emma were alone in the apartment of their caretaker. Happened right before that poor girl’s eyes.” 

Markus sinks on the couch as he tries to process the words. A worried-looking Carl comes into the living room, but Markus only focusses on the phone. “Is he-” He takes a deep breath. “Is he going to make it?” 

There’s a moment of silence. “He was shot in the throat and was bleedin’ out. Emma was the only one with him, kid had no idea what to do. Paramedics didn’t get called until their caretaker arrived, about a minute later.” 

A familiar sense of numbness spreads itself over Markus’ body. “Is there- Should I come to the station?” 

“Nah, that’s why I’m callin’ you.” Markus can hear some background noises on the Lieutenant’s side of the line. “I’m at the scene now, there’s no need for you to go anywhere, so just... stay home until we figure out what to do.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Daniel bein’ shot like that days after we freed him? Guess Cyberlife isn’t too happy with them being out. All the kids are now possible targets, we’re moving them to safer places.” 

Markus bows his head. He had thought it was over, that all he had to do now was wait for more arrests to take place, that it had ended with Connor. 

As Markus doesn’t respond, Lieutenant Anderson continues. “Look, I’ll keep you updated about Daniel. I don’t think they’ll target you but, just stay home and be careful, alright?” 

“Yeah...” Markus mumbles, leaning back on the couch. “I will. Can you tell me if Daniel...?” 

The lieutenant hums. “I’ll tell you when we know more. Just- don't get your hopes up.” 

“Okay.” The word isn't more than a whisper and after the Lieutenant says goodbye Markus quickly hangs up, letting the phone slide on the couch, not bothering to put it back in his pocket. 

A few minutes ago he had felt... alright. He had felt like things maybe would be okay. And now, now Daniel is going to die. It feels as if he’s being punished for feeling better. 

Carl comes into view as he slowly moves his wheelchair closer, giving Markus a concerned but gentle look. “What happened?” 

Markus takes a deep breath, bracing himself before he speaks. “Daniel, one of the RKs they freed from Cyberlife, he- he got shot.” He pauses, bowing his head. “Lieutenant Anderson said he’s probably not going to make it.” 

A hand settles on his knee, making Markus lift his head again, desperately looking for some escape in his father’s eyes. “It was a sniper.” He continues. “They shot him just like that because-” 

Because what? Because he knew too much? But that doesn’t make sense, they rolled up the whole lab, what could Daniel possibly know that would prevent them from finding more? 

They got him out, he was supposed to get a new life, a chance, a new start. Markus feels anger rise in his chest, making him dig his nails into his palms. Daniel was supposed to get a life, Cyberlife decided that he couldn’t have that, and they took it away. Like they took Connor away. Even now, after all this time, they still control their lives. 

“Markus.” Carl’s soft voice breaks him free from his dark thoughts. “Are you safe? Is there any chance that they’ll come after you?” 

Markus considers this for a moment. He wants to say he doesn’t care, wants to scream that Cyberlife already took everything away from him, but he doesn’t. Despite everything that has happened, despite everyone that has died, Markus has come too far to simply give it all up now. 

He shakes his head. “I don’t think they will. The Lieutenant doesn’t think they’ll target me, but it’s better if I just stay home.” He sighs. “They’ve had years to take me down. Why would they do it now?” 

“I want you to be careful, as long as this isn’t resolved, okay?” Carl makes sure to look him in the eyes. 

Markus nods. “Of course. It’s just-” He bows his head again, wanting to disappear in the couch as the weight of the world presses him down. “I want it all to stop.” 

Carl places his hand on Markus’ shoulder and squeezes. “I know, and it will. Sooner or later they’ll find all those assholes, and lock them up for good.” 

A tiny smile appears on Markus’ face as he clutches on those words. Sooner or later, it will all be over.

* * *

**May 21, 2026**

**11:04 AM**

A long sigh escapes Lieutenant Hank Anderson as he hangs up the phone and lets his gaze travel to the blood on the floor. They just couldn’t catch a break, huh? 

A day ago he got the file on his desk; they found a temporary foster parent for Daniel and Emma, RK600 and RK1200. They got ‘em to this apartment yesterday. Not even 24 hours later Cyberlife made their move. 

Jesus Christ. 

The place is a mess. Apart from the drying blood on the floor, there’s a hole in the window with cracks around it like a spider web from where the bullet entered the apartment. There's a similar hole on the opposite wall, the bullet when straight through its target. They hit him in the throat. Sloppy. If the intention was to kill, the sniper should’ve gone for the head, unless they did and missed. But Cyberlife doesn’t do sloppy. Why did they mess up now? 

A vase had been knocked over when they rushed Daniel out, to the elevator. The shards and roses are scattered all over the hallway, dying in the water that once kept them alive. The smell of burned food lingers in the air, and the officers wandering around the scene make the place seem even more chaotic. 

Hank steps closer to the window, observing the hole that was made twenty minutes ago. He’s been at crime scenes like this before, they won’t learn anything about the shooter from here. Maybe if they can figure out where the shot came from... 

“Can we go now?” A familiar voice comes from behind the Lieutenant, and he closes his eyes in annoyance. Why did Jeffrey make Gavin come along? 

“Clearly, we won’t learn anything here. We’re just wasting our time.” 

“Yeah?” Hank turns around, facing the detective who is leaning against a wall, arms crossed. “Because your time is better spend paying games at your desk?” 

“My time,” Gavin counters back. “Is better spend on my own case. Why the phck should I be on your crime scene?” 

“It’s a high priority case, Gavin.” Chris says before Hank can. “There are six other kids with a high risk of being murdered, like this one.” 

Gavin huffs as he pushes himself from the wall. “So what? You think you’re gonna find the shooter from this?” He shakes his head. 

“If you wanna make yourself useful, Reed, there’s a kid downstairs that still needs interviewing.” Hank isn’t exactly comfortable with sending Gavin to a little girl who just witnessed her only friend getting shot, but he knows Gavin won’t pull the same attitude in front of a child. 

Gavin rolls his eyes. “As if we’re getting something out of her. But fine-” He holds up his hands as Hank goes to protest. “The sooner we’re done here the better.” 

Hank watches as Gavin makes his way towards the elevator, pushing though the officers standing there. 

“Jeffrey owes me a favor for making Reed come along, Jesus Christ...” Hank mumbles. Chris remains respectfully silent. 

Turning his attention back to the crime scene, Hank frowns. “Think we can determine where the shot came from?” 

Chris walks to stand next to him. “We’ve got some guys on it. If they can, it shouldn’t take much longer. Fifteen minutes, maybe?” 

Nodding, Hank lets his gaze wander around the room again. “Thanks, Chris.” 

He makes another round through the room, making sure he didn’t miss anything, but his prediction was right; nothing to find here. He starts making his way over to the elevator to wait for the results in the lobby, away from all the blood and officers, when his phone rings. 

He doesn’t recognize the number and doesn't rush to answer the phone, getting in the elevator first before swiping to accept. “Anderson.” 

“Lieutenant Anderson, this is Adrian Baker, from the Detroit Receiving Hospital. I’m sorry to inform you that the patient from your crime scene, Daniel, has passed away during emergency surgery.” 

The voice sounds mechanical and apologetic, and Hank pinches the bridge of his nose as the elevator moves down. “Fuck.” He breathes. 

Adrian starts listing of the detail while Hank leans on the wall and processes it all. Daniel’s foster parent had come along in the ambulance and was now at the hospital to file in the information. Daniel had lost too much blood before they even got him to surgery, and his heart stopped beating twice. They brought him back the first time. 

It didn’t work twice. 

After the call is finished, and Hank has sunk down in a chair in the lobby, he realizes he’ll have to talk to the foster parent as well. He is so not looking forward to that. The woman had two kids in her care, and a day later only one was left. He can imagine the guilt that she must feel, of being unable to protect your child. 

He knows that feeling way too well. 

He has to call Markus, he realizes. He’ll do it later. Fuck, he just can’t right now. Why does he have to be the one to do that shit? He’s brought that kid nothing but bad news lately, and Hank’s heart aches for him. 

God knows Markus doesn’t deserve any of this. 

He doesn’t know how long he sits there, thinking, before Chris steps out of the elevator and makes his way over to him. Hank quickly puts his phone away, deciding that for now, he won’t tell anyone about Daniel. They have a scene to focus on first. 

“Sorry to disturb you Lieutenant.” Chris starts, even though Hank is clearly not doing anything. Chris has to be the only one in the goddamn station who gives a fuck about someone being his superior. “I think we know where the shot came from.” 

Hank hums, forcing himself to stand up and focus on the case again, not on a dead man who was killed seconds after he had a chance to live, a parent who has to live with her guilt and a girl who lost her best friend. He manages a ruff smile, but fears it looks more like a grimace. “Lead the way.” 

Chris calls Gavin over, and they exit the building, only to enter a different wing behind the original one. It’s about the same height and build as the apartment complex, but this one is under construction. There’s nothing on the inside but a working elevator, empty rooms filled with dust and building materials. 

They get into the elevator, ending up one floor higher than the apartment where Daniel was shot. The hallway is empty, every apartment easily accessible as there are no doors placed yet. Chris leads them to a room in the middle, and Hank immediately spots why. 

The window offers a nice view of the gardens that lay between this wing and the other, but an even better view on the apartments on the other side. Adding that half of the windows aren’t even placed yet, this would be the perfect spot for an assassination. 

There are officers here too, a man and a woman Hank recognizes but can’t for the life of him remember the names of. They’re scanning for fingerprints, by the looks of it. 

“Found anything yet?” He asks, trying to see their name tags without being obvious. God, he needs to practice names more. 

“Nothing.” The woman says, throwing her long hair back as she turns to Hank. “I doubt we’ll find any, they knew what they were doing.” 

Hank nods. Of course. Why would they be lucky for once? 

“Well,” Gavin says. “So now we have... an empty room, no fingerprints and a lot of dust. Very impressive.” 

Although Gavin is annoying and condescending, Hank can’t argue with him. The odds of finding something here are minuscule. Nevertheless, he steps towards the window, looking at the place where there is no glass to stop the wind from blowing in, or a bullet from flying out. 

“Mind if I have a look?” The officer that has been standing in front of the window turns around and steps aside, giving Hank all the space he needs. 

“We can’t determine exactly where they shot from.” The officer says. “But this seems like the most logical spot. They probably took some of those crates over there to set up the gun, but nothing has fingerprints. They wouldn’t have had to worry about the wind or anything, it’s a close shot. Oh, and here-” Despite everything, Hank has to grin at the enthusiastic rambling of the officer, probably a rookie. He remembers when he was like that, God, that feels like ages ago. He’s getting too damn old. 

“There are marks in the dust, where they moved the crates, they must’ve put them back. But- you've probably seen that already- ehm...” He awkwardly stops his rambling as he meets Hank’s eyes. “That’s all we’ve got.” 

The woman rolls her eyes, mumbling something before turning away, but Hank smiles. “Thanks, that’s very useful.” 

The man’s face brightens before he nods and follows his college out of the room. Definitely a rookie. 

“Thought he’d never shut up.” Gavin mumbles as he looks around the room. 

Ignoring him, Hank takes another look out of the window. The guy was right, it is a pretty close shot. It can’t be more than five hundred feet, but Hank has seen people shot clean between the eyes from over seven thousand feet. 

Why would Cyberlife, who managed to keep a huge secret hidden for decades, do such a sloppy job? 

The Lieutenant moves away from the window, checking out the crates the officer pointed to, squatting down to get a better look. They don’t look like anything special. One would be stable and high enough to support a sniper rifle, but light enough to push back as if nothing happened. 

Hank is just about to walk away when something catches his eye. A small silver cylinder is laying between two crates, he wouldn’t have seen it if he hadn’t bend down. He reaches out to grab it and holds it closer to his face as he stands back up. 

Yeah... He has no idea what it is. 

There are two circles, only a few inches in diameter, connected by a smaller cylinder shaped like a broad gear wheel. It has a hole through the middle, it’s probably supposed to be attached to something. 

“Hey, Gavin.” Hank calls out, making the detective turn his attention from the window to him. “Any idea what this is?” 

He tosses the thing to Gavin, who barely catches it and gives it a bored look. “No idea.” He says as he spins it around. “Probably something from the construction site.” He tosses it back to Hank, who hums. 

A few seconds of silence pass before Gavin sighs. “Okay, I’ll bite. Why?” 

“Seems outta place.” Hank mumbles. 

“It’s something mechanical, this place is under construction. I think it’s perfectly in place.” 

“Maybe.” Hank gives the thing one last look before dropping it in his pocket. It just feels like it is something important. The whole place is empty, no tools, no nothing, and tucked between a crate that their killer moved, lies this little thing. 

It could be something, could be nothing. Regardless, Hank will know. 

“Alright, I think we’re done here.” He announces, ignoring Reed’s muttered finally. 

They make their way out of the building in silence, giving Hank time to remember he still needs to call Markus about Daniel, and interview the foster parent. Not looking forward to that. 

He might stop by Jimmy’s bar first, he definitely deserved a drink after this, although... he needs to be home early today, so he might skip it after all. Fuck, this day is not going well for him. 

Walking towards his car, he waves Chris and Gavin goodbye, and shuts the door after him. 

If his ears get damaged because he plays his music a little louder than usual today, then so be it.

* * *

**May 24, 2026**

**12:01 AM**

Nothing. 

That’s all Hank’s got on Daniel’s killer so far. Absolutely fucking nothing. There are no fingerprints, nobody saw anything, and the only witness is twelve years old and traumatized. He’s starting to hate these guys at Cyberlife more with every passing second. 

He called Markus three days ago, when he got home from the station. The silent acceptance in his voice was tearing at Hank’s heartstrings as he kept bringing him more and more bad news. Hank promised to call again when there was any progress in the case and well, he hasn’t called since. 

It didn’t sound like Markus was expecting much. Hank doubts how much closure getting those assholes will actually bring him now. 

Sighing, Hank takes a bite out of the burger in his hand. He knows he should eat healthier, but he needs to see Garry every now and then too, right? Would be rude if he stayed away. Besides, these are the best burgers in Detroit, so sue him. 

He went to Garry because he had to get out of the station for a while. The non-existing progress was slowly driving him crazy, and eating a burger in the rain sounded like a great plan. If only his mind would stop working the case for a few seconds and he could actually get a real break, that would be great. 

Needing some distraction, Hank takes out his phone and starts scrolling through some pictures while finishing his burger. He barely registers the images until a picture of Cole and Sumo fills the screen. He remembers that day well, it was the first time he let his son take Sumo’s leash, as he seemed old enough to hold him. They were almost home, and Hank figured the dog’s energy would be gone now, and he’d behave. 

Wrong. 

A stupid squirrel decided to ruin his plan and of course Sumo had to chase him. Thank God Cole was smart enough to let go of the leash and not get his arm ripped off, but he did lose his balance and fell in a puddle. The look on his face had been priceless, even though Hank felt bad for laughing after making sure he was unharmed. 

Sumo never caught the squirrel. 

He is ripped from his memory when the screen of the phone suddenly changes and his ring tone breaks the silence that had been surrounding him. Frowning, Hank squints his eyes to read the name of the caller, and quickly answers after recognizing it. 

“Yeah?” 

“Hi, Hank.” Dana Gourrier’s voice sounds through the phone. “I got something on that thing you send me.” 

A day after he visited the crime scene had sent the little cylinder to his old friend. Dana used to be a construction worker and started her own business five years ago. They met in 2018 when she was arrested for beating up a guy that was harassing her friend. Great girl. 

She’s the only one Hank knows that could maybe know what the thing is. 

“Really.” He answers. “Do tell.” 

“Alright so,” The redhead starts. “I checked a few things that I thought it might be, but it didn’t match anything, so I was like well fuck this, you know? I even checked my jackhammer for parts, but nope.” Hank can feel his hope plumber down the drain at her words. 

“But-” She continues. “I was calling with my cousin yesterday; you know the one from Ohio, who works with cars?” Hank has no idea, but hums anyway. “Well, I send him some pictures of it, and he said it was a- wait I wrote it down- a _timing belt drive pully_ , which is apparently used in the engine of electric cars.” 

“The engine of a car?” 

“ _Electric_ car, pay attention.” Hank rolls his eyes, glad that she can’t see him doing so. “I was gonna call you about it yesterday but my cousin said to wait, he wanted some closer pics and do some research- I swear he was going all Sherlock Holmes mode and shit. Super annoying, but it did pay off.” 

Hank leans forward on the table, his chest buzzing with that excited energy he always gets when onto something in a case. “So what’d he find?” 

“The pully is basically used in all electric cars, but this specific one? It’s only used in one model.” She sounded way too smug, but Hank couldn’t care less. He puts the phone on speaker and pulls op his notes, ready to write down whatever she gave him. “Which model?” 

“A... Cadillac Escalade EV, no idea what kind of car that is but whatever. Last version came out last year, and it uses this timing belt.” 

“Escalade EV...” Hank finishes typing and brings the phone back to his ear. “Anything else I should know?” 

Dana clicks her tongue. “That’s all I’ve got for you, chief.” She pauses. “So eh- is this going to be a big breakthrough in a case?” 

Hank chuckles. “Could be, guess we’ll have to wait and see. You’re a real Godsend, you know that?” 

“Of course I am.” 

Hank rolls his eyes again, grabbing his drink as he steps into the rain and makes his way over to his car. “Remind me to take you to dinner sometime soon.” He says. 

“Ugh, dinner. How ‘bout you owe me a favor; is that cute cop still married?” 

“Yes, he is.” Pressing the phone between his shoulder and ear, Hank manages to open the car door without spilling his drink. “Became a father three months ago.” 

“Fuck.” Dana groans. “Why are all the cute ones taken?” 

Hank huffs. “Don’t ask me for dating advice. You know how that went.” 

A chuckle comes from the other end of the line. “Dinner it is. Two lonely souls, eating their misery away.” 

“I’m not lonely.” 

“Sure, Hank. Anyway, gotta go, busy day.” Dana concludes. “Talk to you later?” 

“Yeah.” Hank agrees as he waves to Garry through his window as he starts the car. “Bye, and thanks again.” 

“Anytime. See ya.” 

After Dana hangs up, Hank starts his car and drives off through the rain, brain working overtime again. Why would there be a car part in an apartment under construction? And if, by some miracle, it is any link to their sniper, why the hell would they leave it there? It doesn’t seem like something that someone would carry around, let alone drop from their pocket while on a mission. 

It might be nothing, Hank knows. It might just be a cold lead, or something a construction worker dropped on the site, after working on his car or something. But it’s the only thing Hank’s got, so he clings to it, and will investigate the shit out of it. 

The drive to the station isn’t long, and after parking his car and getting soaked on the short walk to the building, Hank sits down at his desks again, adding the information he just received to his file. 

He stares at his monitor for a while, but cannot find the energy to get started. As on autopilot, he reaches out to grab his drink, before realizing he left it in his car. Groaning, Hank leans back in his chair, debating if it’s worth it to walk back in the rain. 

He decides that no, it isn’t, and just goes to get some coffee. He tries his hardest to ignore Gavin who is telling some story to Tina in the break room. Last thing he needs is Gavin nagging him about the case again. The only thing he has to offer are childish ‘I told you so’s’ as Hank didn’t make progress. 

Thankfully, Hank is left alone and he quickly takes his coffee back to his desk. 

Alright, no more excuse. Work. 

His research, surprisingly, doesn’t even take that much time. After scrolling through about fifty different sites selling car parts and thirty more with information about them, Hank finally stumbles onto something useful in the databases. 

There are over sixteen hundred automotive-related manufacturing establishments in Michigan, and nearly half of them are located in Detroit. Hank narrows down the search to assembly plants and finds eight located in the United States, but only one of them in Michigan, or more specifically, Detroit. 

The Hamtramck assembly plant. 

That could be something. Hank moves to their website, quickly scanning through the information. Location, opening year, employee information and what he is looking for; global brands. 

Pulling up his notes as well, Hank checks the brands and finds the one he needs. Cadillac. Excitement rises once again, but he forces it down, still extremely aware that this probably won’t lead to anything. 

One click on the link confirms his thoughts, as the information that pops up is completely useless. Why would he care that Cadillac launches a new campaign with an Oscar winning actress? And no, he doesn’t want to customize his car, thank you very much. 

It takes some time searching through all that bullshit before something catches his eye. Once again, the information the Lieutenant is looking for is hidden away between some crap about an actor introducing a new model, but luckily for Hank it’s the exact model he’s looking for. 

He leans back in his chair and takes a sip from his now cold coffee. So, the assembly plant makes those cars, and they’re the only one in Michigan that use the specific type of timing belt pully found on a crime scene. 

Hank glances over to the glass office in the middle of the precinct. Would it be enough to convince Jeffrey to get him a warrant? 

It seems like the Captain isn’t doing anything urgent at the moment, so Hank gets up and makes his way over the glass office. He doesn’t bother knocking and just pushes the door open. Jeffrey doesn’t look surprised, but only pushes his chair away from his computer and raises an eyebrow. 

Hank cuts to the chase. “I need a warrant.” 

“And why do I have a feeling I won’t agree with this?” The man asks, leaning forward on his desk as Hank sits down. 

Hank rolls his eyes, but starts his story, starting with what he found on the crime scene to how he discovered what it was, ending with where he wants to go. 

“Absolutely not.” 

“Ah, for fuck sakes, Jeffrey, can’t you back me up this one time?” 

“This one time? Jesus Christ... you can’t just get a warrant on this giant factory over a freaking hunch.” The Captain all but screams and Hank leans forward in his chair, trying to make him understand. 

“I’m onto something.” Hank says. “I know it doesn’t seem like much evidence but I know it’s related to the case.” 

Fowler sighs, looks away and then back at Hank again. “Look Hank, this case... I’ve wanted to talk to you about it.” Hank frowns as he continues. “With active assassinations going on it’s no longer just our business, the FBI wants to take over.” 

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” 

Holding up one hand, Jeffrey silences him. “I know, but what choice do I have? We can’t afford to waste more time as long as these kids are out there.” 

“I’ve been working this case for over three years!” Hank gives up trying not to scream, frustration flowing over. “You can’t just let the fucking feds take over now! All I need is a little more time, come on, Jeffrey.” Hank drops his voice again, ready to beg with his Captain if that’s what it takes. “Just get me that warrant, and if it doesn’t lead to anything you can give it to the feds.” 

The captain leans back, clearly torn between the most logical path and his Lieutenant. 

“Fine.” He gives in and Hank slumps in his chair with relief. “I’ll get it to you tomorrow. You’ve got a week, understood?” 

Hank grins, standing up. “Loud and clear. You won’t regret this.” 

Jeffrey turns back to his terminal, muttering something under his breath. Satisfied with what he’s got, but also aware of the new deadline looming over his head, Hank walks towards the glass door, pausing before he opens it. 

“Can I get a SWAT-unit as well?” 

“Get. Out.”

* * *

**May 25, 2026**

**4:15 PM**

“Clear.” 

Hank groans once more as Captain Allen’s voice comes over the portophone. He’s made his own round through the Hamtramck assembly plant, which already took him a good two hours, and he’s spent another hour waiting for Allen’s unit to clear the whole thing. 

He’s found nothing. 

It wasn’t like he knew what he was looking for, and Captain Allen seemed pretty pissed to be sent on a mission as vague as this one. But Hank had argued that there was a chance of a high-risk suspect, giving Fowler no choice but to give in. Hank doesn’t care if anyone disagrees with this; he has six days left to find _something_ before the case goes to the FBI and he owes it to Markus to not let that happen. 

But every _clear_ that comes over the radio makes him doubts grow more and more. 

At least the weather is nice, Hank thinks as he leans back on the hood of his car. Gavin and Chris had come along too, the former leaning on the police car they drove here. Chris has chosen to sit inside, nearly falling asleep by the looks of it. They're parked near the east entrance of the plant, having a nice view of an ugly-ass building on the other side of the road. 

Another _clear_ sounds over the radio, making Hank bury his face in his hand. If this leads to nothing, Hank doesn’t know what he’ll do. He doesn’t have anything else. 

“Told you we wouldn’t find anything.” Gavin taunts. “It’s just another waste of time.” 

Hank doesn’t bother to respond, but his annoyance reaches its peak and he pushes himself off his car. 

Gavin raises his eyebrows. “Where are you going?” Chris looks up from his phone at the question and watches the Lieutenant walk by. 

“Going for a walk. I need to think.” 

“Lieutenant, wait.” Chris fumbles with the door handle, exiting the car. “I’m coming with you.” 

Not having the energy to argue and not minding Chris’ company, Hank slows down until the officer has caught up with him. 

“And I’m just supposed to wait here alone now?” Gavin complains while also walking towards them. Hank resists the urge to roll his eyes. Sometimes it really feels like he’s babysitting the entire police station. 

With Chris next to him and Gavin trailing behind them, Hank crosses the road, moving to walk on the sidewalk on the other side. He doesn’t know where he’s going or for how long he wants to walk, he just wants to do something else than wait. 

They’ve been walking for about ten minutes and the terrain on which the assembly plant is built still stretches out on their right, but on the left the industrial buildings have taken place for a rather ugly thing. An abandoned building stands alone and decayed behind a fence that seems just as broken. 

The building is old, several windows are broken, if not completely missing. It’s also not very tall, only two stories high. Plants and cracks have spread all over the walls, breaking into the place like spidery legs. It looks kinda creepy, misplaced in the street filled with factories and industry. 

“What are we looking at?” Gavin asks as he catches up with them. 

From the corner of his eye, Hank can see Chris shrug, and he’s about to say _nothing_ and start walking again when something else catches his eyes. 

On the second floor, behind one of the windows that hasn’t broken yet, something moves. It’s only a shift of light, but Hank would swear he saw it. He steps closer to the fence, ignoring Gavin who repeats his question. 

The assembly plant is still behind them, and this building would be perfect to hide out in. His brain starts to race again as the possibility of _something_ is presented. It could just be a homeless person, he knows. Hell, it could even be an animal, but Hank doesn’t care. He starts walking back, where the spotted a hole in the fence earlier. 

“Lieutenant.” Chris says as he jogs after him. “What are you doing?” 

Hank tugs on the fence. “I’m going in.” 

“In? But wha- why?” 

“I saw somethin’" Hank huffs as he tugs on the fence again, creating an opening. 

“Have you finally gone crazy?” Gavin asks, a smirk on his face as he watches Hank. 

“Lieutenant, you can’t just go in there, you’re trespassing.” Chris tries to stop him. 

Hank steps through the fence. “I have a probable cause.” 

He can practically feel Chris’ confusion. “No you don’t- Lieutenant!” The man yells after him as Hank approaches the brick building. He just needs to find a way in. 

Ignoring the sounds of Gavin and Chris struggling with the fence, Hank inspects the first floor. All the windows here are hammered shut with wood, and there seems to be no entrance. He walks by the windows, checking all of them before finally finding one with a few missing planks on the backside. 

The hole isn’t big enough for Hank to fit through, but luckily the planks seem to be old and rotten, and it takes no effort to tear them down. 

The bright sunlight makes place for the daunting darkness, and the first thing that Hank notices on the inside is the dust. He has to cough before flicking on his flashlight, lighting up the dark room. Yeah, it’s creepy. 

The whole place looks like it’s about the collapse, and the only light that shines inside through cracks make it so that shadows dance all around him. Hank starts walking, looking for a way to get upstairs. 

Around the corner, he finds some stairs, but they’re old, and probably won’t support his weight. Testing the bottom by pressing his foot on it only results in more dust and a horrible creaking sound, so Hank decides to find another way. 

It doesn’t take long to find something, although it is strange. The ceiling has collapsed at some point, leaving a gaping hole that offers a view to the darkness above. The weird thing is that a ladder has been placed against the side of the hole. 

Someone’s definitely been here. 

Putting the flashlight between his teeth, Hank starts climbing the ladder, praying all the way the ceiling won’t collapse under his weight. 

Thankfully, he makes his way up with no trouble. Somewhere outside he can hear the voices of Gavin and Chris, but he pays no attention to them. It’s lighter up here, with the windows left open. It’s also less dusty, which Hank takes as a blessing. 

He starts searching the place, finding nothing at first, until his eye falls upon something in a lighter corner, next to an uncracked window. 

A sleeping bag has been placed in the corner, along with a battery powered lamp. Next to the bag lies a book and what looks like a set of clothes. Hanks looks at it for a moment. Scratch out the animal options, there’s definitely a human here. 

Turning around to the leave the room, Hank suddenly spots movement in the hallway. He quickly exits the room, chasing the shadow that’s moving in front of him. 

The figure runs around the corner, and Hank gives chase. “Stop right there!” He shouts as he pulls his gun, voice echoing off the walls. 

Surprisingly, the figure does as he’s told, and Hank points his gun towards him, shining the flashlight in his direction. It appears to be a young man dressed in dark clothes; dark blue jeans and a black jacket. Hank shines the light higher, to his face, and freezes. 

He recognizes that face, those dark brown eyes and brown curls, even though he has only seen it on a picture or heard it in Markus’ descriptions. The face of a man that’s supposed to be dead. 

Hank lowers his gun and the flashlight with it. 

“Connor?” 

The young man tenses, slightly bending his knees and one hand subtly moving to his pants. 

He’s armed. 

“Okay, hey.” He tries to keep his voice soothing, showing that he means no harm. “My name is Lieutenant Anderson; I work for the Detroit Police Department. I’m not going to hurt you, okay?” 

Connor keeps staring at him, breathing slowly. In the shadows that the flashlight throws on his face, Hank can see the panic growing in the young man’s eyes. What is he doing here? Did he get away from Cyberlife? If that is the case, he’s probably terrified of everyone, not knowing who to trust. Hank needs to thread carefully. 

“I can help you, okay?” He tries to take a step forward, but Connor immediately reacts by stepping back. “Okay, we won’t do anything you don’t want, but I need you t-” 

“Lieutenant!” Chris’ voice sounds through the building, making Connor’s eyes snap behind Hank before turning on his heels and sprinting into the darkness of the hallway. 

“Ah, shit.” Hank curses. “Suspect’s here, call it in!” He shouts downstairs before he starts running, too. He has to catch up soon, Hank knows his condition isn’t good enough to give a long chase. 

He sprints through the narrow hallway, ignoring the cobwebs and dust flying in his face, only concentrating on the footsteps in front of him. They turn around a corner and suddenly light floods into the hall. A part of a wall has collapsed, creating a pile of bricks that leads down to the terrain behind the building. 

Hank can just see Connor jumping outside before losing sight of him. He sprints towards the opening as fast as he can, but before he can make it a shout comes from the outside. 

Gavin’s shout, to be exact. 

Good, Hank thinks. If Gavin is there, he can stop Connor before he can run any further, that would- 

The sound of a gunshot fills the air. 

“Shit.” Hank curses as he makes his way down the brick pile, stumbling over loose bricks that roll down. When he reaches the ground, he manages to spot Gavin, who is holding a hand to his face. His other arm is outstretched, a gun in his hand. Relief floods through Hank as he runs towards him. 

“What the hell happened?” He asks and pulls Gavin’s hand away from his face, revealing the blood streaming from his nose. 

“That fucking bitch-” Gavin groans. “Came outta nowhere. He phcking punched me! I shot his arm though, he ran over there.” He points towards another building, this one smaller than the one Hank just stumbled out off. 

Hank doesn’t bother checking Gavin, he’ll be fine, and starts to run again. He’s panting and his legs start burning. Jesus, he needs to work out more. 

Through one of the cracked windows of the building, Hank can just see a figure sprinting upstairs, towards the roof. He cheers inwardly, it seems like there is no way off the building, so if he’s fast enough, he can stop him. 

Getting upstairs is easier in this structure, as the place is not falling apart so much. Hank slows down before opening the door that leads to the roof, gripping his gun tight but making sure to keep it low. He doesn’t want to scare the man away. 

Taking a deep breath, Hank opens the door and steps into the light. 

He was right; Connor is still there, standing on the edge while frantically looking around, probably for a place to escape. When he hears the door open, he spins around, drawing a gun and pointing it at Hank. 

Hank freezes and lifts his own on instinct, the plan to not look threatening now out of the window. He can see a hole in the young man’s jacket from where Gavin has hit him, it doesn’t look bad, but it has to hurt. Still, Connor holds his gun with both hands and keeps it steady. 

For a moment they stand there, staring at each over their weapons while waiting for the next move. 

Hank decides to speak. “You have to put the gun away, kid.” He makes sure to keep his voice calm, not wanting to escalate the situation even further. “Don’t make this worse for yourself. You haven’t done anything wrong, not really. Just put the gun away and we’ll talk.” 

It’s silent for a moment. Then, Connor shakes his head. “You should leave.” His voice is high pitched and controlled, nothing like Hank suspected. His face is the picture of stoicism, but Hank still heard the tremor in his voice as he spoke. 

“I can’t do that, I’m afraid.” Hank responds. “You’re Connor, right? I know who you are, I can help you. You just have to come with me.” 

“I can’t.” The words are spoken quickly, filled with certainty that he can’t leave. “Just leave me alone.” 

“That’s not an option.” Hank says calmly. As Connor keeps pointing his gun to Hank, he decides to change tactics. 

“Look, there are two other officers down there.” He begins. “If you shoot me, they’ll come up here and won’t hesitate to gun you down. And yeah, maybe you’ll make it out, but there’s a whole SWAT-unit waiting at the entrance.” The SWAT-unit is nowhere near the entrance, but Connor doesn’t need to know that. 

“Think, kid. There’s no way you’ll make it out. But if you put your gun down and come with me, I promise nothing will happen to you.” 

Finally, a flicker of desperation breaks through on Connor's face as his eyes glance around, still looking for a way out. Hank can see the moment he realizes there is none, and brown eyes look at Hank once more. 

The young man lowers his gun slowly, gaze never leaving Hank’s as if waiting for him to break his promise. 

“Now drop it.” Hank commands, not wanting to risk anything right now. 

After a moment of hesitation, Connor does as he’s told and drops the gun before straighten back up. Hank pulls his handcuffs. 

“I’m placing you under arrest, there’s nothing bad gonna happen, but you did punch an officer and were trespassing. You have the right to-” Hank’s eyes once again flicker to the hole in his jacket where blood has begun to seep through, and now that his arms are lowered the blood drips on the concrete below. 

Except, it’s not red. It’s blue. 

_What the fuck?_

The kid catches his stare, and places one hand on his wound, trying to cover it. 

Hank quickly steps forward, reading his rights forgotten as he turns Connor around and cuffs his hand together. Up close, he can clearly see the blue color dripping from the wound. _What the actual fuck?_

After picking up the gun, Hank pushes Connor in front of him. He doesn’t struggle as they walk down stairs to where Chris is trying to push a tissue under Gavin’s nose. They look up as Hank joins them, Gavin throwing a dark look to their suspect. 

Hank has too much on his head to wait for their questions. He fishes his keys from his pocket and throws them to Chris. 

“You drive my car back. Gavin and I will take the police car.” 

For once, neither of them argues or comment, and on the way back to the car Hank answers their questions as short as he can. He keeps looking at the cuffed brunet walking in front of him, head bowed and blue blood dripping down shaking hands. What the fuck did Cyberlife do to him? 

He puts Connor in the back of the police car, hoping his medical attention can wait ‘till they’re at the station. He makes Gavin drive so he can keep an eye on Connor. 

Once they’re on their way and Hank tries to ignore all the weird shit that’s going on, he looks in the rearview mirror at Connor, who once again has pulled his face in that expressionless look. 

He takes his phone out of his pocket. 

It’s time to call Markus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!
> 
> So this one took a while, which is probably because it took me a week to decide whether or not I wanted to use Hank's pov or not. As you have read, the answer was yes! I basically did this because I didn't want another chapter of Markus waiting for Hank to tell him what happened... I hope you liked him!
> 
> As always, please leave me a comment to tell me what you think! They're super motivating and I love everyone who leaves me one! <3 
> 
> Also all the love to [CipherLife60](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CipherLife60), for once again beta reading this thingy
> 
> See you next time!


	8. Smoke and mirrors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor has been found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I believe, Is it a dream?  
> That comes crashing down on me?  
> All that I own  
> Is it just smoke and mirrors?
> 
> -[Smoke and mirrors,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDPnaTQF6Dw) Imagine Dragons

**May 25, 2026**

**6:03 PM**

Markus closes his eyes against the flickering sunlight that makes its way into the police car as the phone call plays over in his head. 

Lieutenant Anderson had been vague in his explanation as to why Markus had to come to the police station, but as he’s still at risk of being assassinated, Markus can guess it’s important. 

He sighs, leaning his head against the window while tuning out the music that plays from the radio. Officer Chen had turned it on the minute Markus stepped in her car, seemingly having no interest in talking to him. Markus doesn’t mind, he doesn’t feel like talking either, especially after she revealed to have no answers to his questions. 

Focusing on the trees and buildings that flash by outside the window, Markus flips Connor’s coin over in his hand again. The waiting is driving him crazy, his entire body is tense with anxiety. What could possibly have happened that requires him at the police station? Hasn't he been through enough? 

After what feels like forever, officer Chen pulls up to the station and leads Markus inside through the back door. 

“He’s in the first interrogation room,” She tells him. “You know the way.” 

Markus thanks her and makes his way over to the room. They must have found someone, or maybe somebody started talking, finally. He hopes they found Amanda, even though he knows that won’t be the case. Lieutenant Anderson would’ve told him on the phone if they got her. 

Taking a slow breath to calm his nerves, Markus pushes the door open and steps into the room. 

“How long where ya in that building?” 

The Lieutenant’s voice is the first thing Markus’ hears as he enters. Detective Reed is leaning on the far wall, looking into the interrogation room while officer Miller is sitting on the chair in front of the one-way mirror. Both of them look up as Markus walks closer, and he nods his hello to them. 

Markus turns his attention to the room on the other side of the glass, where Lieutenant Anderson is leaning forward in his chair, apparently in the process of interrogating someone. He snaps his fingers in front of the suspect a few times as the man doesn’t answer. Markus turns his gaze from the Lieutenant to the brunet sitting on the opposite side of the table, and his entire body seems to freeze. 

Wait- He _knows_ that man. 

He can’t- he was- 

Connor. 

Without fully realizing it, Markus steps closer to the glass, his vision has turned into a tunnel, only focused on _Connor_ sitting there, on the other side of the glass. He blinks a few times, but the image never changes. It’s undeniably Connor. Connor, sitting with his back straight, his hands cuffed in front of him as he looks at Lieutenant Anderson. Connor, with his usually neat hair now longer and unkempt. Connor, who is no longer wearing Cyberlife’s uniform, but a simple black T-shirt. Connor, who is older than eighteen, whose brown eyes are still the same, who is _here._

Markus can’t seem to breathe, his heart is pounding in his chest as his hand reaches out to the glass. _He was dead, Connor was dead, but he’s here, he’s not- it's Connor- he's-_

Connor is alive. 

It feels as if something snaps in his chest, something that has been trapped for days, _years_ , finally released and let out, where it flows right to his eyes which start stinging again, although for an entirely different reason than what had made them do that the past few days. 

He tries to speak, but as he opens his mouth only a shaky breath comes out, mixed with a sob. Finally, Markus manages a word. “How?” 

“Hank found him in an abandoned building near the Hamtramck assembly plant. Fucker tried to run away and punched me in the face.” Gavin explains, hatred clear in his voice. 

Markus’ attention is snapped back to Lieutenant Anderson as he suddenly slaps his hands on the table. “Say something, goddamnit!” He yells, but Connor doesn’t even flinch. He just keeps looking at the lieutenant, no emotion shown on his face. 

A beat of silence passes, and Lieutenant Anderson shakes his head while pushing himself away from the table. 

“Fuck it.” He looks at the glass, unable to see Markus or the others. “I’m outta here.” 

Markus keeps looking at Connor as Lieutenant Anderson exits the room. He wants to go in there, take his handcuffs off and hold him close, never let him go again. It’s a longing so strong it hurts, but he knows he has to wait a little longer. 

“We’re wastin’ our time interrogating him, we’re gettin' nothing out of it.” Lieutenant Anderson steps into the room, not seeing Markus just yet. So, albeit reluctantly, Markus turns away from the glass to face Anderson. 

“Markus.” The man’s eyes grow wide as he sees him. “You’re here.” 

“Yeah,” Markus confirms, a bit stupidly. “What- What is going on? How-” He can’t help it, turning away from the Lieutenant Markus looks at Connor again, who is still sitting there, fiddling with the chain that binds his hands to the table. Still alive. 

Anderon scoffs and goes to stand next to Markus, watching Connor. “We found ‘im while looking into a lead. Pure luck we saw him in an abandoned building.” He says, repeating Gavin’s words from before. 

“He tried to run away, guess he was scared of us. He also punched Gavin and pointed a gun at me, so there’s that.” 

A gun? How would Connor have a gun? “Can I-” Markus swallows as his voice breaks. “Can I go to him?” 

“Eh... yeah...” Lieutenant Anderson hesitates, making Markus turn towards him while still keeping Connor in his line of sight. It feels as if he will vanish again if Markus looks away. “I’ve been talking to him for a while, but he hasn’t said a thing besides that his name is Connor and _he’s not authorized to give information._ ” 

Markus frowns and turns to the glass again, eyes fixed on his friend. “He doesn’t know who you are. Did you tell him I’m here?” 

The Lieutenant nods. “He said he didn’t know you. He could just be tryin’ to protect ya, but...” 

“But what?” 

Anderson sighs, turning to face Markus fully. “I don’t know. They experimented on his brain, right? I expected some sort of reaction when I mentioned you, but he showed nothing. So either he has a hell of a poker face, or he truly doesn’t remember you.” 

Markus shakes his head. “No, no he wouldn’t- he knows me.” That feeling of despair starts rearing its ugly head in Markus’ chest again, but he refuses to let it take over. “Just let me talk to him. Please, I just want to go to him.” 

“Are you gonna tell him about the fact that his boyfriend’s bleeding blue?” 

“What?” Markus turns to Gavin, ignoring the part of his mind that screams not to turn away from Connor. 

“Yeah, that’s another thing,” Anderson says. “Gavin shot ‘im while he tried to get away, made him start bleeding blue.” 

“You did what?” Markus raises his voice, looking back at Connor to search for an injury. The bandage on his left arm makes Markus’ anger rise up in his chest. 

“He was running and attacked an officer, it was only a graze.” Anderson explains. Markus takes a few slow breaths to calm his emotions. Connor was scared, was running, and Gavin shot him. That old feeling of injustice, of needing to do something rises again, but Markus pushes it back. There are more important things going on right now. 

“No one has any idea what’s going on with his blood. We got samples going to the lab, but that’ll take some time before we get any results.” Lieutenant Anderson continues as Markus stays silent. 

Markus also doesn’t have any idea what it might be, what they might have done. But right now, he doesn’t care. He doesn’t care what was done to Connor, what they turned him into. He just wants this stupid glass to be gone and go to him. 

“Can I go to him?” He asks, voice calm and collected. 

Anderson sits down in the unoccupied chair in front of the glass. “Go ahead. He’s all yours. Just... keep what I said in mind, alright?” 

Wasting no time, Markus walks out of the room, but hesitates in front of the door that leads to the interrogation room. Connor is behind that door. When he opens it, he’ll see Connor again. After five years of being apart. The swirl of emotions that that thought causes almost makes Markus dizzy as he grabs the door handle. 

He takes a deep breath to steady himself and finally pushes the door open. 

Connor lifts his head as Markus steps in, and their eyes meet. For a moment, Markus is frozen in place as brown eyes look at him, making his breath stop in his throat. 

It’s undeniably Connor, who he hasn’t seen for five years, who he thought had died. And he is just sitting there, all Markus has to do is walk forward. 

He feels a smile form on his face and happiness spread in his chest. But despite that, something feels... wrong. There’s a pressure in the room, a tension Markus wants to disappear. Connor’s expression hasn’t changed, he just looks at Markus, and it feels _wrong_. 

Slowly, Markus makes his way forward to the table. His legs feel weak as he breaks eye contact to sit down on the empty chair opposite of Connor. He shouldn’t be opposite of Connor, he should be next to him, he should be hugging him, he shouldn’t be so nervous. 

Markus looks back up, realizing Connor is still looking at him with that same expression. He is _so close_. He takes a moment to look at his friend, to update Connor’s face in his mind, replacing the one he knew with this older version. 

“Connor.” The word isn’t more than a whisper, and Markus’ hand twitches in his desire to just reach forward and grab him. He balls his hands into fists instead. 

Connor tilts his head slightly as a tiny smile appears on his face. “Hello.” 

God, Markus almost burst into tears right there and then. How he missed that voice. He sounds slightly different than how Markus remembers him. Lower, in a way, and more collected. 

“Connor,” Markus says again, as if it’s the only word he knows. “It’s me.” 

Connor frowns slightly, but otherwise doesn’t respond. That desperate feeling grows, and Markus blinks to keep his eyes dry. “You know who I am, right?” 

The brunet looks at him for a moment, his eyes flickering over Markus’ face before he speaks. “You’re Markus Manfred, born December five, 2001. Adopted by Carl Manfred on January 24, 2023. Currently unemployed.” 

It feels so good to hear Connor say his name again, but something is wrong. The information that spills from Connor’s lips is too formal, as if he’s reading it from a file. It’s not _right._ This is not how it’s supposed to go. 

Without realizing it, Markus slowly shakes his head, and he leans slightly forward. “But you _know_ me, Connor. You remember me.” 

“I’m sorry.” Connor says, unfaced. “I don’t know what you mean.” 

Despair, frustration, and anger fight for priority in Markus’ chest, and his unmatched eyes desperately search Connor’s. “You don’t- it’s okay, Connor.” He tries. “Are you afraid of Amanda? Of Cyberlife? They can’t get us here.” 

Connor’s face barely changes, but Markus has always been able to read him, and it seems like that hasn’t changed. The brunet leans back slightly, never breaking eye contact, his nostrils expanding as he takes a slow breath while his mouth twists into a straight line. Markus can see him closing himself off, an expression that’s never been directed at himself. 

It hurts. 

As Connor doesn’t respond Markus closes his eyes for a second, wanting that expression to fade. When he opens them again his gaze lands on the bandage on his arm, making him remember what Lieutenant Anderson has said about his blood. He looks Connor in the eye once again. 

“What have they done to you?” 

Connor’s eyes flicker away to stare at the wall and Markus can see a shadow of _something_ crossing his face. It’s not even there for a full second, but Markus has seen it. 

“I’m sorry.” He looks at Markus again, all emotion vanished from his face and voice. “I’m not authorized to give you that information.” 

This time, it’s Markus who breaks the eye contact. _Don’t do this to me, Connor._ He thinks. _Don’t make me lose you again_. 

Suddenly getting an idea, Markus reaches into his pocket and grabs the coin that has been sitting there. It’s a last resort, a grasp at a straw, but he has to try. He places the coin on the table, and slowly slides it over to Connor. 

Their hands almost touch as Connor’s cuffed hands reach out to take the coin. Markus finds himself chasing him, but before he can do anything Connor has already pulled back. 

“Do you recognize that?” He asks instead. 

Connor holds the coin in his hand to look at it. He tries to lift it before remembering his hands are cuffed to the table. Markus bites his lip as he waits. 

“It’s a U.S. quarter.” Connor finally says. “Currency 25 cents, minted in 1994.” He places it back on the table and slides it away from himself. 

“It’s yours.” Markus desperately tells him. “You’ve had it for eleven years, and gave it to me when you left me, after we escaped Cyberlife. You _know_ this, Connor.” 

It doesn’t work. Connor stays silent, apparently having decided that Markus’ rambling isn’t worth responding to. Or maybe he just doesn’t know what to say. The frustration and hopelessness begin to overwhelm Markus, and he looks down at the table to keep himself from screaming. 

It’s not his fault, he tells himself. Cyberlife did this, they robbed Connor from remembering him. They’re the ones who hurt him. 

Markus’ hands start shaking, no matter how tightly he squeezes his nails into his palms. He can’t do this, he needs- he needs to think. Abruptly, he shoves his chair away from the table and stands up. Slowly, he lets his eyes travel back to Connor, who is still looking at him with that same expression. 

Markus missed him so, so much, and now here he is, but it seems like he’s still out of Markus’ reach. 

He waits a moment longer for something, anything, to change, but when it doesn’t he forces himself to turn around and walk away. It’s one of the hardest things he’s ever done, it feels like he’s betraying Connor, but he tells himself he’s not. He just needs to think, needs to talk to Lieutenant Anderson, needs a plan, needs _something_. 

When the door closes behind him, Markus suddenly feels exhausted. He stands there for a moment, letting all the emotions flow through his body, thinking over everything that just happened. Connor doesn’t remember him. 

He doesn’t remember him, but he’s here, and whatever happened to him, Markus can work with. He can finally do something, finally stop waiting. 

He walks back to the other room, where Gavin has sat down and Lieutenant Anderson is making a phone call. “Yeah, it’s probably gonna be late and I don’t want him alone all evening, so- you can? Oh, thank God, I owe you one. Yeah- thanks again.” 

The Lieutenant puts his phone away, looking at Markus. “Let’s take a break, huh?” He says while walking towards Markus and placing a hand on his shoulder, effectively steering him towards the door. “Chris, bring us some coffee, please. And Gavin, keep an eye on Connor.” 

Markus lets himself be led into the quiet precinct. Most people have gone home by now, leaving only a few officers at their desks who don’t look up as Markus and the Lieutenant walk towards his desk. 

After Markus sits down on the unused desk, Lieutenant Anderson slumps in his own chair. “You okay?” 

Markus sighs, placing his elbows on the desk and hiding his face in his hands. “Yeah.” He mumbles. 

The Lieutenant hums and Markus can hear him turn in his chair. “So, I guess we can conclude he has suffered some memory loss.” 

“Some?” Markus lifts his head. “He doesn’t remember me at all.” 

“Could you make anything out of how he reacted? Do you think he’s still in contact with Cyberlife?” 

Markus shakes his head. “I don’t know. If he ran away, why wouldn't he just tell us? Why say he’s not authorized to give information?” 

“Yeah...” Anderson leans back in his chair, one hand rubbing at his chin. “That’s another weird thing. Who the hell speaks like that? He normally does that?” 

“No,” Markus thinks back to the countless conversations he’s had with Connor. “I mean, he always spoke more formal than others would, especially when he was still loyal to Amanda, but nothing like this.” He slumps in his chair. “I just don’t understand.” 

“Important thing is that he’s here.” The Lieutenant says. “And what about his blood? You know anything ‘bout that?” 

Shaking his head once again, Markus looks at the bonsai tree on the desk, not having the energy to maintain eye contact. “I have no idea. I know that they used to do experiments with Ralph’s blood, but I haven’t heard or seen anything about it being blue.” 

The Lieutenant lets out a long sigh. “Well, that’s one more thing to add to the list of what the fuck is going on.” 

Markus looks up at him, raising one eyebrow in question. Anderson huffs. “Look Markus,” He says. “Connor’s here now, that’s somethin’ that seemed impossible a day ago. My guess is he’s just confused. If we can convince him we’re on his side, he should be able to tell us some shit.” 

Nodding, Markus considers the words. That sounds reasonable. The awful feeling that stems from knowing Connor doesn’t remember him is still there, still raging and screaming at the unfairness of it all. But Connor is alive. He’s alive, and he’s here, where Markus can protect and help him. 

He wants to go back to Connor. It’s only been a few minutes but it’s been enough. He’s just about to ask the Lieutenant if he’s ready to go when officer Miller approaches their desks with three steaming cups in his hands. 

“Hey,” He says while placing the cups down. “How are you holding up?” 

“I’m alright, thanks.” Markus says while taking his coffee. The warmth feels good on his hands, it feels comforting. “Can we go back?” 

“Sure.” Lieutenant Anderson takes his cup too and stands up. “Thanks, Chris.” 

Markus follows the Lieutenant as they walk back to the interrogation room, mentally preparing for seeing Connor again. He wants to ask if they can take off his handcuffs. Connor isn’t dangerous, he hasn’t done anything wrong. If they want to convince him they’re on his side, that would be a good place to start. 

Lieutenant Anderson is the first to step back into the room, but before Markus can even walk in far enough to look through the glass he stops. “What the fuck?” 

Officer Miller rushes past Markus to follow Anderson as he quickly steps towards the glass. “Oh, shit.” He mumbles before rushing out of the room again. Lieutenant Anderson pushes past Markus to enter the interrogation room, finally giving the young man a chance to see what’s going on. 

Connor is gone. 

Markus quickly steps closer to the glass, eyes darting through the room as he tries to make sense of what he’s seeing. The handcuffs are still there, still locked from what Markus can see. He looks at the rest of the room, spotting detective Reed, lying unconscious on the floor. 

Lieutenant Anderson enters the room and quickly kneels down by Gavin’s head, checking for a pulse. Markus can hear commotion coming from outside, but he is too stunned to pay much attention to it. 

He can’t be gone, he was here minutes ago. Markus saw him, Connor was here, cuffed to the table, in that room. Why did he- where did he go? 

Markus places his hands on the edge of the desk in front of the glass, clenching them tightly. He shouldn’t have left. Why the hell would he even turn his back on him for one second? How could he be so stupid? 

In the interrogation room Gavin is slowly sitting back up, supported by Lieutenant Anderson. Markus turns away from the glass, not wanting to see the empty room anymore. It feels like he’s suffocating again, like he failed Connor all over again. 

No matter how many people are searching for him right now, Markus already knows the truth. 

He’s lost Connor again.

* * *

**May 25, 2026**

**7:22 PM**

After an hour of searching the area they have to admit the truth: Connor got away. 

Markus is sitting in a private room, waiting for someone to tell him what the next step is. He’s called Carl a while ago, informing him of what happened. His father had wanted to come to the station, but Markus managed to convince him to stay home. 

After what feels like forever, officer Miller steps into the room, beckoning Markus to come with him. He leads him another room, where Lieutenant Anderson and Detective Reed are sitting in front of a monitor. Neither of them looks very happy. 

“Alright,” Lieutenant Anderson says as he notices Markus and Miller walking in. “Markus, come take a look at this.” 

Moving to sit in front of the monitor, Markus looks at the screen. Anderson clicks on a few things, and a video starts to play. 

A few screens pop up, looking like a recording of the same scene, only from different angles. Markus realizes he’s looking at CCTV footage as Connor appears on the screen, sitting in the interrogation room, just like before he vanished. 

There are three screens in total, one recorded from the front, one from the back and one from the upper left corner. Markus notices nothing strange at first, it’s just Connor sitting there, fiddling with the handcuffs. 

Suddenly, however, there is the tiniest change in his posture. He stops fiddling, sits up straighter and blinks a few times. Markus frowns as Connor looks straight into the camera that was recording him from the front, and his breath hitches for a second as those brown eyes look at him once again. 

He keeps staring at the camera, and for a few seconds nothing changes, until the feed abruptly falters. It happens so quickly Markus almost missed it, but from one moment to the next Connor isn’t looking at the camera anymore. He’s returned to his slightly slumped position from before, fingers fiddling with the chains. 

Markus turns to the Lieutenant. “What just happened?” 

Anderson sighs. “He looped the feed. No fucking clue how the hell he did that, but it’s the same for all the other cameras. We’ve got nothing.” 

“He looped it?” Markus asks, turning back to the screen. “But-” But he’s just sitting there, Markus wants to say. There’s no way he could’ve done that. 

“Yup.” Lieutenant Anderson says, popping the ‘p’. “From there on we’ve got what Gavin can tell us.” He looks over to Detective Reed, eyebrows raised. 

“Again? Jesus Christ...” The Detective whines, before rolling his eyes. “I was just watching him, and suddenly this maniac just dislocates his thumbs and takes off his cuffs. I didn’t notice until he was already on the second hand.” He pauses, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms. 

“Anyway, so I go in with my gun, but before I can even open the door properly the bitch’s already disarmed me like some crazy John Wick style. Next thing I know-” He clenches his fist in front of his face and opens it again, mimicking an explosion. "Poof.” 

Markus frowns. “Maybe he was just scared.” He turns back to Lieutenant Anderson. “He’s been locked up his entire life, and he didn’t know what was happening. He just-” 

“Markus.” Anderson stops him. “I know you want to protect him, but this wasn’t him acting out of emotion. He knew what he was doing, and we have to consider him dangerous, especially since he might be the one who shot Daniel.” 

“Connor’s not dangerous!” Markus exclaims, raising his voice slightly. “He’s a victim. You shouldn’t have locked him up in the first place! He hasn’t done anything wrong, and you cuffed him to the table like some criminal.” 

“’Hasn’t done anything wrong’?” Reed huffs from behind him. “This is the second time that asshole attacked me.” 

“You pointed a gun at him!” 

“That’s enough.” Lieutenant Anderson interrupts them. “Markus, you should go home alright? I know it sucks,” He quickly adds as Markus is ready to protest. “But there’s nothing you can do right now. We’ll do our best to track him down, but I fear we’ll have to wait for him to make a move first.” 

Swallowing his anger and frustration, Markus stands up. “So what, am I just supposed to sit at home and wait? Again?” 

“I’m sorry, kid.” The Lieutenant looks at him with that apologetic look, making Markus turn away. “But that’s all you can do right now. Chris will take you home.” 

The finality in his tone makes Markus turn and walk away before his emotions can get the best of him. He ignores officer Miller telling him he’ll be there in a few minutes and heads straight for the interrogation room where Connor has been mere hours ago. 

It’s still the same as it was when they started searching for Connor; the handcuffs are lying on the table, still closed and untouched. Markus sinks down in the chair where he sat before and buries his face in hands as his eyes start to water. How could he be so incredibly stupid to lose Connor again? He had him back. _He had him back._

Swallowing a sob, Markus forces himself to focus on something else. Hours ago, he had thought Connor was dead. He had thought there wasn’t a single change he would ever see him again, but for once the universe was on his side and he had been reunited with his long-lost friend. Even if Connor doesn’t remember him, even if he is so confused and brainwashed that he doesn’t know who’s on his side, he is _alive._

Markus straightens his back and takes a few breaths to calm himself. Connor is alive. Connor is here, in Detroit. Deciding to put his full focus on the hope that blossoms in his chest instead of the despair and fear in his stomach, Markus manages to stop his tears before they flow. 

He can do this. He can get Connor back, he can still safe him. It isn’t too late. 

After standing up from his chair Markus walks to the door, but as he is about to exit, he suddenly remembers he left Connor’s coin on the table. He quickly walks back while already looking at the table to find it. 

It isn’t there. Markus lifts the handcuffs to check underneath them, but the coin is nowhere to be seen. 

He knows nobody took it. It was there on the CCTV and after Detective Reed was knocked unconscious no one has touched the table. After searching all over the floor Markus comes to the only logical conclusion, unleashing a new sense of hope in his body. 

Connor took the coin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who messed up her notes and lost sight of the story structure??  
> Yeah it's me.
> 
> Which is why this chapter is a little shorter than usual, but I think it did what it needed to do. I hope ya'll can forgive me.
> 
> I have no idea when the next chapter is gonna be since it's my birthday next week and that takes some planning and stuff. You know how it goes. 
> 
> Anyways, all the thanks and love to everyone who was kind enough to leave me kudos and comments on previous chapters, Istg I love you all <3
> 
> Thank you [CipherLife60](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CipherLife60) for betareading, as usual. I hope you have recovered from Breaking Bad <3
> 
> Till next time!


	9. Battle cry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happened to Connor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just one more time before I go  
> I'll let you know  
> That all this time I've been afraid  
> Wouldn't let it show  
> Nobody can save me now
> 
> -[Battle cry](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZtMHSOq50Q), Imagine Dragons

**November 24, 2021**

**6:01 AM**

It’s still dark when Connor wakes up. 

For a few blissful seconds, he doesn’t remember what happened. For a few moments he just lies in his bed and snuggles deeper into his pillow. He wants to go back to sleep, but a feeling of dread coming from deep inside of him has him sit up while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. 

The wall is on the wrong side. 

Blinking sleepily, Connor places his hand on the white concrete while his tired brain catches up with what that means. 

He’s in Markus’ bed. But if he is, then where is Markus? He looks through the dark room, the only light coming from the digital clock and the hall light that creeps underneath the door. 

Markus is nowhere to be seen, and just like that the events of the past few days come rushing back to Connor. 

He gasps as the realization hits, a pain stronger than anything he’s ever felt making him wrap his hands around himself, the hoodie he’s still wearing forming a protective shell around his body. 

Markus is gone. 

They were outside, they made it, but they were tracking him down, and he had to leave. It was the only thing he could’ve done. It’s okay. 

It's okay. _It's okay._

Connor repeats the words in his head like a mantra, trying to quell his rising panic. It’s done, he can’t change it now. He’s back at Cyberlife, alone, and he has to deal with it. 

Throwing a quick glance at the clock makes Connor realize he has an hour before the guards will come pick him up. 

He takes a deep breath and steps out of Markus’ bed, replacing his despair and loneliness with anger. He’s back at Cyberlife, but that doesn’t mean he’s just going to lie down and accept this again. 

Never again. 

He moves over to his side of the room, shoving the mattress aside to reveal the mesh base of the bed. It’s probably impossible to remove one of the iron wires with just his hands, but the bed is old, and Connor knows there is a broken wire; a result from when he and Markus wanted to see who could jump the highest. 

Pushing the memory away, Connor throws his mattress on the ground and starts pulling. 

It takes way too long to get it to bend even a little, so Connor climbs on the bed and forces all of his weight to the thin wire. It creates a crack into the frame, and once again the brunet pulls on it, accidentally making his fingers bleed. He ignores it, and continues to work. 

It’s nearing seven AM when he finally manages to remove a long piece of wire from the bed frame. He wraps the longest part around his knuckles, letting the sharp end come out between his fingers, ready to stab anything in its way. Connor balls his hand into a fist, turning it over a few times to inspect his work. 

It’s not much, but it’ll work. 

He quickly puts the mattress back on the bed and straightens the blanket as if nothing happened. After checking if everything looks good, Connor sits down and waits. 

It doesn’t take long before footsteps approach the room. After a swift knock on the steel, the door is unlocked and it opens as the light in the room are turned on. 

Two guards dressed in their usual black outfits stand in the hall, the first one telling Connor to move. 

Swallowing his nerves, Connor stands up and keeps his eyes down, not wanting to draw any attention to himself, especially not to the iron rod that’s poking between his fingers. 

The second he steps out in the hall one of the guards tells him to walk towards the labs, just as he has done a million times before. Connor doesn’t struggle, he simply starts walking. 

Everything is the same, he notices. There is no extra security, no extra armor or weapons, and the guards are as calm as ever. They don’t expect him to pull anything. Of course, Connor knows he can’t escape again. Even if he somehow managed to get out of the building and off Belle Isle, they’d just track him down again. 

But being in here like this, as if nothing changed, as if he never got out, as if their escape didn’t matter? That’s something Connor can’t stand. They _did_ get out, and Markus is still free, they can’t just pretend like nothing happened, like nothing changed. Connor won’t let them. 

He stops walking and can hear the guards stop as well. He takes a deep breath. 

“What are you doing? Keep going.” One of them says. He sounds more annoyed and tired than anything else. 

Connor still doesn’t move, making the guard on his left sigh and place a ruff hand on his shoulder. 

He doesn’t waste any time; Connor grabs the man’s arm with his free hand before immediately spinning around and aiming his other hand to his shoulder, where the chest armor no longer protects him. 

The iron wire slides easily through the material with the force of Connor’s punch, and the guard lets out a scream, his grip on Connor vanishing. 

Not waiting for the other guard to react, Connor pulls his fist back, the iron wire now slick with blood, and he starts to run. 

His heart is hammering in his chest as adrenaline pushes his body into action. Just before he speeds around the corner, gunshots ring out from behind him and a rubber bullet barely misses his leg. He’s never been hit with one of those before, and he’s not exactly in a hurry to find out what that feels like. 

Pushing away that fear, Connor keeps running through the white hallways. He can hear people screaming behind him and he knows it won’t take long before they get to him. 

As he rushes around the next corner a guard comes into view, the black of his uniform clearly visible in the bright hall. Connor slides to a stop, and quickly turns around to run back, only to see more guards approaching him from behind. 

Having no choice, he turns to the left and pushes through the only door there; the entrance to the cafeteria. 

He sprints past tables and chairs, pushing them over as goes, but it only takes a few minutes before there’s nowhere else to go, and he has to face his opponents. 

The guard closest to him doesn’t even slow down, but harshly grabs Connor’s arm as he struggles to escape. The brunet doesn’t stand a chance against the strength of the man, and he lets out a huff of air as he is pushed against the wall, one hand on his neck, the other holding his hands being his back, rendering his makeshift weapon useless. The more he struggles the tighter the hold on him becomes, but Connor just can’t stop. 

He hates the hands that hold him down, he hates being so helpless, he _hates_ it. 

Another guard grabs hold of his arm, and he’s dragged away, towards the labs. 

And as they move out of the cafeteria and through the halls, Connor lets his hate consume him, lets it smolder through his body until there is no more room for fear, desperation or loneliness. 

It’s the only way he’ll survive this.

* * *

**November 29, 2021**

**8:41 PM**

The day has been rather uneventful. 

It has been four days since Connor has been brought back to Cyberlife, and he’s tired. 

He hasn’t stopped fighting them. He keeps resisting every chance he gets, even when they strapped him down, even when they removed anything that could be used as a weapon from his room, even when he hasn’t seen the others yet, Connor found a way to fight. 

But it’s exhausting, and since nothing major happened today, he allowed himself some rest. 

He doesn’t resist as the guards escort him back through the white hallways, but he does look up as they stop at the common area. Before he has the chance to ask why they suddenly stop here after they’ve neglected to do so the past few days, the guards push the doors open and shove him inside. 

Three pairs of eyes immediately turn towards the door, Daniel, Traci and Ralph looking just as surprised as Connor as he walks in, leaving the guards at the door. In the silence of the room Connor makes his way over to the table where the others are seated. 

Before he can say anything, Daniel speaks up. “Where the hell have you been?” 

Connor sits down, not looking anyone in the eye. It’s an expected question; the longest anyone usually spends absent is two days, and even that is a rare occurrence. 

He has been gone for eight days. 

He hesitates before speaking. He had been preparing himself for telling the others, thinking of everything he could say that would convince them to rebel against Cyberlife as well. But now he’s sitting there, with everyone but Rupert waiting for answers, Connor’s throat suddenly feels dry. 

They left them. 

Connor had thought about it sometimes, while preparing their escape, that the others would still be here. He pushed it away, telling himself there was no way they could bring everyone. They had to leave them. 

Of course, he hadn’t expected to face them like this. 

“Connor?” Traci pushes, her tone gentle. She must think Cyberlife kept him away all those days, that they did something to him. Guilt washes over Connor at that thought. 

“We got out.” He ends up saying, not looking up. 

“Out,” Daniel repeats. “Care to elaborate?” 

“We- Markus and I- We escaped.” 

“What?” Traci’s voice is low, and she leans closer to Connor. “You did what? Is that what the alarm was for? How did you- where's Markus?” Her words stumble over each other as the questions fight for priority. 

Finally, Connor looks up, catching her eye as she looks at him expectantly. 

“The night of November 21st, Markus and I escaped Cyberlife.” 

He ends up telling them the whole story; he quickly covers how they planned their escape, how they made it out and ran for their lives in the cold snow. He tells them about the outside world, about all the people, the colors, the sounds, the lights and the scents. How overwhelmed they were by everything that was going on, how he couldn’t believe Cyberlife kept all of that from them. 

He tells them how they made it on the train and ended up in Niles, and, how eventually, Perkins showed up and forced them to flee. 

He talks about how he realized it was his fault they found them, and how he left Markus to give him a chance. He only lies about where he left him, just in case the guards are listening in. 

Daniel, Traci and Ralph listen to the whole thing without interrupting Connor. Daniel’s expression never changes, but Traci’s face is filled with wonder and concern as Connor tells the different parts of the story. 

Connor wonders how much Ralph is hearing, if he’s even listening at all. 

“Wait, so Markus is still out there?” Traci asks as Connor’s goes quiet. At his nod, Traci’s face lights up. “Then there’s still hope! He’ll get help, he’ll get us out!” 

Daniel scoffs. “Oh, sure. Markus will just find someone who will believe him and they’ll come busting in here.” He leans back in his chair. “You really think Cyberlife will let that happen? They’ll kill him the second they find him.” 

“They have no idea where he is.” Connor tells him. “He’s smart, he’ll lay low.” 

“Yeah?” Daniel raises an eyebrow. “Even with you in here? He’ll probably give himself up just to get back to you.” 

Connor frowns. “He won’t risk it. Not after everything.” 

Daniel looks away while crossing his arms. He’s not allowing himself to have hope, Connor realizes. 

“So he’ll be careful, but eventually he’ll do it. He won’t just let us rot in here.” Traci states. “We’ll get out, too. Eventually.” 

“Ralph doesn’t want to go out.” Ralph suddenly says, his arms moving to hug himself. “We have to stay here. We can’t go out. They’ll hurt Ralph.” 

“No, Ralph.” Daniel says, voice suddenly gentle. “They won’t hurt you again.” 

Ralph shakes his head. “We have to listen to them. They’ll hurt us. Look, what they did to Ralph.” He turns his head to the side, revealing his scar that runs across his face, rendering one eye blind. 

“I know.” Daniel reassures him. “But they won’t do it again, okay?” 

“Wrong!” Ralph suddenly yells, making Connor flinch back. “Ralph knows what they’ll do, he has seen it!” 

“Okay.” Traci tries to calm him down. “Just calm down, Ralph, it’s okay.” 

“No!” Kicking his chair backwards, Ralph quickly stands up. “Ralph doesn’t wanna die, Ralph doesn’t wanna die. It would be a pity if Ralph died, oh yes, it would be a pity!” He starts walking towards the guards, mumbling to himself, and Connor stands up too, debating whether he should intervene or not. 

“Ralph wants to leave right now! Yes, Ralph wants to leave now! Ralph wants to-” The guard Ralph approaches moves his hand to his weapon as he starts screaming, and Traci quickly rushes after him. She tries to grab Ralph’s arm but he twists away, making him stumble towards the guard. 

“That’s enough!” The man yells, causing the other guards to focus as well. “Take them back to their rooms,” He orders. “I’m not dealing with this shit tonight.” 

Connor braces himself as the guards approach him, gesturing for them to start walking. He doesn’t want to obey them, but telling his story and watching Ralph freak out has drained what was left of his energy, and he allows himself to be escorted away. 

He can hear Ralph muttering to himself until he’s locked in his own room. It makes him feel guilty for involving Ralph in this, he should’ve known better. 

Taking a slow breath to stop the whirl of emotions inside of him, Connor waits until the guard has opened his door. He almost thinks he succeeds in calming down as he steps inside, only to feels his heart plummet to the floor as he looks into the room. 

Markus’ bed is gone.

* * *

**April 24, 2022**

**5:00 AM**

Something woke Connor up. 

He usually wakes from the smallest sound or movement, but now something feels off. He tries to sit up so he can find out what it was that woke him, and he immediately realizes his mistake. 

A splitting pain shoots through his head, making him gasp and press a hand to his forehead. His fingers glide over the top of his bald head; the doctors shaved it two days ago to give him another surgery. Apparently, that finally decided to result in a headache. 

Another flash of white pain shoots through Connor’s brain, so intense and overwhelming that he whimpers out loud, now grasping his head with both his hands. 

“Markus,” Connor whispers as he gasps for air. He needs Markus, he can keep Connor calm, assure him that it’s okay, help him through it. “Markus... please.” 

He waits a few seconds for the pain to lessen and rolls over, making the dark room spin around him. “Marku-” 

Connor’s flashing vision lands on the other side of the room. The empty side. Markus isn’t here, Markus hasn’t been here for months. 

A sob escapes Connor as he curls into himself, cradling his head with his arms. It hurts. The realization that he is alone fills him with so much despair that it almost outweighs the pain. 

Almost. 

Tears start the well up in the brunet’s eyes as he desperately tries to think through the hammering in his head. _It’ll pass._ He tells himself. _It’s okay, it’ll pass._

The guards won’t be here until seven AM, and Connor prays to whatever is out there he won’t have to wait that long. 

As the next wave of pain washes over him the tears spill from his eyes, and he lets out a soft groan. He needs help. He can’t do this, it’s too much. He tries to speak up, to yell or scream and get someone’s attention, but all he manages is a silent, rasped ‘ _help_ ’. 

Taking a deep breath, Connor pushes himself up to get out of the bed, but the sudden movement makes his head scream in agony, and he drops back down, feeling as if he’s going to vomit. 

He made a mistake, though, and instead of falling back into the pillow, his body leans to the side, tumbling towards the floor. 

Thankfully, he doesn’t land on his head, but the fall knocks the air out of his chest, and he lets out a miserable whine. 

He wants Markus. 

The door seems so far away, and even if Connor would try he doesn’t think he’d manage to get there. So, he curls up on the cold floor, whimpering as his brain explodes again. “Please,” He sobs. “Please, help me.” 

It seems like it goes on forever, the pattern of agony repeating itself over and over again. First, there’s a dull, paralyzing pain, immediately followed by the worst headache Connor’s ever had, making it feel like a pickaxe is digging in the back of his skull, causing his entire body to stiffen in torment. Then there’s a second of relief, before it starts all over again. 

He tries to imagine Markus is there with him, sitting behind him, holding his hand and running the other over his pulsating head. He keeps trying to imagine what Markus would say, how he would reassure him, but mostly it’s too hard to think through the pain. 

It’s impossible to tell how much time has passed, but after what feels like an eternity, a knock on the door sends new spikes of pain through Connor’s head, and he curls up even further. Suddenly, the lights in the room turn on, and his head _explodes_. 

He screams as his vision gets covered in white dots, and his hands desperately grab at his head, trying to make it stop, please, just make it stop, just- 

Hands grab his wrists, pulling his arms away, forcing him to face the light. A dark silhouette moves above him, making Connor scream again. “Please,” He sobs, not knowing what exactly he’s asking for. “Please.” 

There are more sounds now, movement all around him, but none of it registers in his mind. He just tries to free his arms again, but the grip on them is too strong and Connor can do nothing but just lay there and he sobs in agony. 

_Make it stop._

Suddenly, something stings in his arm, and seconds later the world starts fading to black. Connor doesn’t fight it, even as the darkness swipes over his body. 

At least in there, he won’t feel the pain.

* * *

“... exactly are you suggesting?” 

“I’m not suggesting anything, but Ms. Stern-” 

“I don’t care what Stern says.” 

Sound slowly breaks through the molasses in Connor’s head, but it doesn’t feel normal. Everything is too slow, like it’s being filtered before it reaches his brain. It almost feels like he’s floating; his limbs seem far away, and he doesn’t feel the breath that spills past his lips. 

It’s relieving, as if he doesn’t have to worry about anything anymore. 

“Our time is running out, maybe involving a third party is the right call. You have to admit that this goes beyond your expertise.” 

“It’s my project. It’s not my fault he can’t handle some brain surgery.” 

“Mr. Andronikov, your work on the other RKs has been truly exceptional, and I’m sure you will reach a breakthrough soon. Just let someone else handle this one.” 

The sounds disappear for a while, and Connor wonders if it’s because the conversation stilled or because his hearing gave up on him. He tries to lift his hand, but quickly finds he’s too tired to do so. He can’t even open his eyes. Somewhere deep down he has the feeling he needs to get out of here, but it never reaches the surface. He’s too tired to feel frustrated. 

“... to Stern.” 

“I’ll talk to her. Just fix 800 back up, and continue on 600. We’ve got more to do.” 

“Of course, sir.” 

Connor detects movement, now. Someone is close to him, and a hand touches his wrist. He wants to jerk away, but all he manages is a soft flinch of his hand. He doesn’t know what’s going on, and as awareness grows stronger, so does his concern. 

Something bad has happened, and he needs to wake up. 

A beeping noise interrupts his panic, and Connor’ head flinches to the side. 

“Shit.” The voice comes from his right, and the hand disappears from his wrist. “Calm down, you’re alright.” 

The words do nothing to console him, and his panic grows. How many times has he been told _calm down, relax, stop moving,_ just to be tied down and hurt? He wants to move, he _needs_ to move, they’re going to hurt him, he has to go- 

More beeping noises fill the room, and Connor can’t hear the man anymore, his only sense being overwhelmed by too loud noises. His head starts hurting again, and he can feel his breathing speed up. 

Connor’s panic starts to take over, but suddenly something changes. His arm starts to tingle, and his fear melts away, the headache doesn’t seem important anymore. Slowly, his rapid breathing calms down as well, leaving Connor with nothing but exhaustion. 

Before he can think of anything else to do, he returns to that sweet oblivion.

* * *

**May 3, 2022**

**15:34 PM**

They’re moving him again. 

He woke up somewhere else, a few days after his head felt like it exploded, and he spend the first few days there confused and scared. Eventually they took him to a new lab, where they performed all sorts of scans and test. Connor had no idea what was going on. 

There were other people, people he did not know. Doctor Andronikov was nowhere to been seen. Connor can’t say he minded that. 

But he didn’t like it there. He was alone, didn’t know what was happening or why, and that scared him. New things are always a bad thing in Cyberlife, and this wouldn’t be an exception. 

Except, apart from the scans, nothing happened. They didn’t cut him open again, and they didn’t hurt him. He learned the new routine quickly and once he got used to it, nothing changed. 

There was a man, someone who was in charge of what was going on. Amanda must know him; whenever Connor saw her, they were talking to each other. 

Connor didn’t know his name, and he never spoke to the man, but he didn’t like him. It had to do with the way he carried himself, and how he looked at Connor. No, not _at_ Connor. At the results that came from the tests. 

He was so different from Andronikov; always calm and collected, elegant and careful with what he was doing. Connor didn’t know how to act around him, what movements would set him off so he would lose his patience and hurt him. Because of this, he spends his time there constantly on edge, not knowing what to do. It exhausted him. 

But from one day to the next, they loaded him in a Cyberlife truck, and now he's being moved again, not knowing where to. 

Despite having no access to any form of clock, Connor knows the ride couldn’t’ve been longer than an hour. The truck soon slows down before stopping entirely, and as the doors open the brunet is greeted with a familiar sight. 

They’re back in Cyberlife. 

Somehow, that realization makes Connor relax. Sure, he really doesn’t want to be here, he doesn’t want to be anywhere where he’s held against his will, but at least in Cyberlife he knows what to expect. 

It’s still too early for the guards to bring him to his room, so Connor is escorted through the familiar hallways and back to common area. He’s been gone for a while, the others will want to know what happened. 

As he enters the room, he notices everyone but Traci is there. To his surprise, Rupert immediately gets up when he spots Connor, and he rushes towards him. 

“Connor!” The younger boy exclaims, coming to a stop before him. “Where were you? We thought- do you know where Traci is?” 

“I was- what do you mean, do I know where Traci is?” 

Rupert’s face falls at Connor’s response. “We haven’t seen her for ten days, same as you. We were worried, and nobody is telling us anything.” He looks past Connor, glaring at the guard behind him. 

“But you’re here now.” He continues, placing a hand on Connor’s arm and walking back towards Daniel and Ralph. “So that means she’ll be back soon, too. Right?” 

Nobody responds, and the tension in the room is almost unbearable. Why would Traci be gone? Connor thought they took him away because something went wrong inside his head, could something similar have happened to their friend? 

“Okay, so,” Rupert says as the silence stretches on. “Where were you, Connor?” 

As Connor explains what happened to him, his mind starts racing, trying to figure out where Traci is. She never disappeared like this before, what could’ve changed now? Does his own disappearance have anything to with it? 

He thinks back to Rupert’s words. Connor was gone too, and they brought him back. It’s probably the same for Traci. They’ll just have to wait. 

But, despite how hard he tries to convince himself that those words are true, that feeling of unease never leaves. 

Something is changing.

* * *

**January 14, 2023**

**10:01 AM**

They chained him down again. 

Connor is seated in an uncomfortable metal chair, in the middle of the lab. His wrists and ankles are tied to the chair, and Connor is proud to say it took the guards twenty minutes to do so. 

Despite that, he absolutely hates being restrained like this; they can do anything to him, but he can’t fight back. 

Something is different today. There are more doctors than usual, but Connor isn’t too shocked by that. What surprises him the most, though, is that Amanda is here, too. 

She’s dressed in her usual white dress, her hair neatly braided on her head. She’s sitting in the corner of the lab, and if Connor turns his head all the way back, he can see her, but only just. 

He wonders why she’s here, if it has anything to do with the disappearance of Traci, or Rupert, or Ralph. Something’s not right, and his concern about what happened to the others grows stronger every day. 

He’s snapped out of his ominous thoughts when a hand grabs the side of his head, tilting it slightly. He tries to jerk away, but the man simply places his other hand on the other side, holding him still. 

The doctor hums before looking up at Andronikov. “Are we ready?” 

“Everything seems good. I’m all set. Ms. Stern?” 

Connor tries to look behind him to see Amanda, but the man is still holding his head, making it impossible for him to do so. 

He can only hear Amanda sigh, and guesses she nodded or gave some other form of confirmation, because suddenly Andronikov takes his equipment from the tables, and walks over to him. 

Connor shrinks back in the chair, not wanting any of those cables close to him. Of course, his efforts are in vain, and he is forced to sit still as the large scientist works on him. 

He can’t see what’s going on, but he can feel the wires being attached to the back of his head, and one on his neck. Finally, Andronikov stands in front of him, placing something on top of his head, similar to a hairband, pressing a final wire to the side of his head. A strange sensation rises up at the touch; it feels as if the chip inside of his head is pressing back. 

It’s unpleasant. 

The man that was holding his head finally releases him, and Connor immediately jerks his head away, breathing hard. 

“Alright.” Andronikov says, smiling. “Good to go.” 

A woman that’s seated in front of a computer begins typing. “Begin memory upload sequence.” She says, voice disdain and emotionless. She presses a final button, and all doctors in the room turn to the computer. 

A strange sensation spreads through Connor’s head, starting at the cables. It tingles, making him turn his head to try and get rid of it. As it doesn’t work, he starts jerking his head to the sides, trying to get the cables to stretch, or break, or anything that’ll mess up their work. 

Andronikov doesn’t even turn to look at him. “Someone fix that.” 

The same man that held his head before walks towards Connor again. His hands are anything but gentle as he pushes Connor’s head back, holding it against the chair as he secures an iron band around his head. 

Connor’s heart starts beating faster in his panic. If he thought being stuck before was bad, this is an absolute nightmare. He can’t even turn his head anymore; all he can do is clench his fist and wait for it to be over. 

Time slowly ticks by, the unpleasant feeling growing more uncomfortable with every passing minute. After a while, the sensation becomes more than just that, as spikes of pain are added to the mix. Connor doesn’t even try to hide his discomfort, and he clenches his teeth as another wave passes through. 

It slowly gets worse, until Connor can only feel the cables attached to his head. The one on his temple is the worst, it feels as if something is being pulled straight out of his head, into the cables. He wants it to stop. 

At some point, an alarm goes off on one of the monitors, and Connor yelps as one cable suddenly send electric shocks into his neck. Commotion erupts in the room as some doctors rush over to him, while others furiously start typing on the computer. He thinks he can hear Amanda’s voice somewhere. 

Connor doesn’t pay attention to him, he only squeezes his eyes shut as tears start to leak from them, and he groans as the shocks continue. 

He doesn’t know how long he sits there, unable to do anything but endure and praying that the people around him make it stop. Thankfully, they do at some point, leaving Connor a trembling mess on the chair. 

Not opening his eyes, the brunet tries to block out everything that’s going on around him, and instead focus on happy memories. Most of them include Markus, but Connor is used to the pang of sadness that those bring with them now. Not that it matters, anything is better than reality. 

He loses himself in his memories, letting them play before his closed eyelids. If he tries hard enough, he can almost see Markus standing in front of him. He smiles at Connor. 

“Maybe next time we have to get _Dorito’s_.” 

Connor returns his smile, looking up at those unique eyes. “You don’t even know what that is.” 

Markus shrugs and turns his body to the side, looking at something Connor can’t see. “I also don’t know what that drink is you got.” He says. “We have to get out of here.” 

The change in tone is so sudden that it makes Connor frown. “What?” 

“Amanda is manipulating you, Connor. We have to leave.” His voice is no longer as strong as before, it’s only a soft whisper now, floating to Connor’s ears like a gush of wind. 

“Do you like your presents?” A teenage Markus asks him. “It doesn’t hurt that bad, I’ll be okay.” Markus smiles at him with all the confidence an eight-year-old can muster. 

Connor tries to shake his head, and blinks his eyes open. Amanda stands in front of him. “I have granted you too much freedom in the past, I will not make that mistake again. But perhaps I can be more relenting if you cooperate.” 

“What do you mean?” Connor asks, his own voice coming out soft and rasping. Something is not right. 

Amanda suddenly disappears, making room for Andronikov instead. “Dreams always end in tears, huh?” He asks. 

“Stop.” Connor tries, blinking furiously to let the world make sense again. 

“You can never jump that high.” Markus says. 

“Look at me when you’re talking, Connor.” Amanda scolds. 

“Welcome home.” Perkins’ smile is as toxic as his words. 

“He’ll come back.” 

“Do you know where Traci is?” 

“Why can’t you just do as your told?” 

“Let’s get out of here. I know we can do it.” 

The words, people and memories blend together, flashing before Connor’s eyes until he doesn’t know what’s real anymore. They’re being ripped away from him. Every time Connor tries to cling to one, another memory gets stolen, forgotten as if it was never there. 

He doesn’t feel the pain anymore, nor the tears streaming down his cheeks or the sweat clinging to his hair. The only thing that’s registering is that awful pull on his temple and words of past conversations floating away. 

He has to stop it. ~~Stop what?~~ He doesn’t know what they’re doing, but he can’t lose those memories. He can’t lose Markus. ~~Who’s Markus?~~ What are they doing to him? They can’t- he needs to- Where is he? ~~My name is Connor.~~

Why won’t it stop?! 

After a while, it goes quiet. Connor doesn’t remember why that seems so important. Was it loud, before? 

He blinks slowly, feeling as if he’s just waking up from a long night’s sleep. He’s not in a bed though. Why is he here? He doesn’t know how he got here. He doesn’t know what _here_ is. 

His vision is blurry. Connor tries to bring up his hand to wipe at his eyes, but it won’t move. Slowly, he moves his gaze down to his arm. Why is everything moving so slow? Why can’t he move- 

Oh, his wrist is tied down. 

Why is his wrist tied down? Wha- what's on his head? 

“-emory upload complete.” Someone is speaking. The sounds of the room slowly come back to Connor, and he notices the people in there. Something tells him that is not a good sign. 

The people move around, but no one is paying attention to him. He pulls on the restraints for a moment, trying to get free, but he’s just too weak. His limbs feel like they weigh a hundred pounds each and his eyes just refuse to stay open. 

He’s jerked awake again when a hand touches his arm. “Alright, we’ve got one shot at this, you ready?” 

The voice is near his head, and Connor looks up at a man in a white coat standing next to him, his gloved hand’s wrapped around the brunet’s arm. In the other, he holds a syringe. 

“Everything is ready.” A sigh. “Here goes nothing. Do it.” 

The hand on his arm tightens, and the man carefully inserts the needle in Connor’s flesh, pushing its contents down. It feels cold. Wrong. 

Connor tries to pull away again, only for the man to bring up a second syringe and repeat the progress. It stings, this time, and panic starts to form in his heart. 

“No...” He mumbles, trying to force his arms to move, his legs to kick, _anything._ But as the man brings a third syringe and empties it in Connor’s arm, he has to admit he can’t do a thing to stop it. 

That knowledge doesn’t stop his panic, though. 

“Please,” Connor tries as the man steps away. “Please, I don’t-” 

I don’t what? 

The world becomes blurry once more and each breath takes more effort than the last. A woman steps in front of Connor, her dark face expressionless as her white dress blends in with the wall behind her. 

Connor tries to lift his head, tries to look at her. “Please,” His voice is no more than a whisper now, but the woman doesn’t move. “Don’t... don’t let me... I don’t...” His words slur together and his chin drops down onto his chest. Darkness is starting to creep into his vision. 

_I don’t want to die._

Just before his senses cut out, a sharp pain cuts through his temple, pulling at something. If he had the strength, he would’ve screamed. 

Everything turns black.

* * *

**January 14, 2023**

**11:32 PM**

“Can you hear me?” 

Connor blinks his eyes open. 

For a moment, everything is too bright, too white, and he closes them again. There’s sound all around him; the humming of machines on his left, footsteps in front of him and the rustle of paper on his right. 

“Can you hear me?” 

The same question as before. He should probably answer. 

“Yes.” 

“Can you move your head?” A new question is asked, but Connor still doesn’t dare to open his eyes. Instead, he moves his head, like the voice said. 

There’s a beat of silence. “Your eyes, now.” 

Slowly, Connor opens his eyes. He has to blink a few times to adjust to the lights that are shining in his face, but he manages to keep them open, squinting to see what’s behind the brightness. 

Two men are sitting on a desk in front of him, monitoring computers. One of them is Andronikov, the other Connor knows but he doesn’t remember the name of. Suddenly, he becomes aware of a pressure on his wrists. He looks up, seeing a white mechanical arm holding his own arm up. The other side is the same. 

He gives an experimental tug on it, checking to see if he can get free, and the arm bends slightly, but clamp on his wrist doesn’t relent. 

“Cervical and optical animation... checked.” The same man says, writing something down on his computer. Andronikov doesn’t move, he just keeps looking at Connor. 

“Alright...” The scientist says, his black curls bouncing on his head as he turns his gaze from the monitor to Connor. “Can you tell me your name?” 

Connor frowns. “My name is Connor.” 

The man stares at him for a moment, and a tiny, smug smile appears on Andronikov’s face. “What’s your RK number?” 

“Why?” 

Andronikov chuckles, making Connor even more confused. A movement in the back of the room draws his attention. 

Amanda is standing in there, also looking at Connor. There’s an expression on her face Connor can’t quite place. He wants to reach out to her, to ask what’s going on, but he doesn’t get the chance. 

“Connor, your RK number. Now.” The first man snaps his fingers, effectively turning Connor’s attention back to him. Connor considers refusing again, but decides against it. 

“800.” 

The man nods. “Initialization and memorization checked. Now, can you move your arms?” 

The mechanical clamps that held Connor in place move and release him, putting his full weight on the platform below. 

Now free to move, Connor slowly brings his arms to his body, turning his wrist. He expects some sort of discomfort from being held up like that, but everything feels fine. It’s when he looks down to his arms that he notices he’s not wearing anything except for a piece of white underwear. 

Suddenly fully aware of the lights pointed at him and the stares from everyone in the room, he wraps his arms around his body, wanting to hide away. 

The man seems unbothered by it. “Upper limb connection checked... go ahead, take a few steps.” 

The arms around him rotate and pull away, leaving the room free for Connor to move. Cautiously, he steps forward, not sure what to expect. What did they do to him? 

He takes another step, and stumbles slightly. He feels dizzy, but only for a moment. It’s almost as if his head quickly adjusts to his discomfort, and suddenly his balance is back. 

Connor takes a few more steps, this time without trouble. He inhales quietly, eyes darting around the room. He’s not restrained anymore, something that hadn’t happened in a long, long time. If he can find an exit, a window of opportunity, he can make a run for it. 

“Locomotion checked.” He turns to Andronikov. “Is that all?” 

The larger man is silent for a moment, before turning his attention to the computer. He hums. “All memory components are online. The personality matrix as well, no glitches or errors. Body seems to be doing its thing.” He leans back in his chair, folding his arms while a smug expression crosses his face as he locks eyes with Connor. “Seems like we did it.” 

“Holy shit.” The other man says, eyes darting between the monitor and Connor. “Holy fucking shit.” 

Connor tightens his arms around himself, wanting to disappear from the looks of the scientists. He has no idea what’s going on, he can’t remember how he got here, or what they did to him. All he knows is that he got up this morning, they took him to the lab and then... 

And then? 

“It worked?” Amanda’s smooth voice fills the room as she walks closer, stopping in front of Connor. He shrinks back, but manages to stop himself before he steps away. Instead, he straightens his back and looks her in the eye. Amanda stares right back. 

“As you can see, Ms. Stern, everything is working perfectly. We still need to run a lot of tests to see if it remains that way, but the way it looks now...” 

Amanda lifts one hand, placing it on Connor’s cheek. It takes all of his self-control to not flinch away and keep staring at her instead. Neither of them moves as Andronikov finishes speaking. 

“It worked.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so, so sorry this took so long! I have no idea why, but for some reason I just couldn't bring myself to write, and then a week passed and then two, and yeahhhhh.
> 
> But hey, it's here now, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! 
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone who is still reading this, and those that are leaving me comments and kudos, and are willing to wait for me to finish a new chapter, seriously, it means so much to me! 
> 
> And all the thanks and love and appreciation for [CipherLife60](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CipherLife60) for still sticking with me and supporting this! <3
> 
> Till next time!


	10. Monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connor learns about his new body. The story continues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I told you what I was  
> Would you turn your back on me?  
> And if I seem dangerous  
> Would you be scared?
> 
> -[Monster](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhSA9H9Iaqw), Imagine Dragons

**December 8, 2023**

**8:13 AM**

**{RECEIVED: DATA_PACK.ZIP}**

**{UNPACK? Y/N}**

**{N}**

“Connor.” 

His name is said like a warning, a silent threat promising consequence if he doesn’t obey. Connor pretends not to notice. 

**{UNPACK? Y/N}**

**{N}**

There’s a moment of silence stretching through the room. Connor takes the opportunity to lean back in his chair and look around the place. They didn’t restrain him this time; the guards at the door make it clear enough that there is nowhere to go. They’re not testing anything on his body anyway, so Connor doesn’t have to fight that way. 

Right now, he can just annoy them in other ways. 

“Connor. Accept the file.” Andronikov’s voice gets that familiar edge, holding an undertone of anger he’s trying to suppress. Connor only tilts his head slightly, creating the most innocent look possible. 

Andronikov is not impressed, and slams his hand down on the table a few feet away from the brunet. “Either you do it willingly, or I’ll do it manually.” 

That makes Connor pause as the query once again pops up on his HUD. He doesn’t like it when they do that; poking around in his brain, accessing things they shouldn’t have access to and violate his very being. Whatever his very being is nowadays. 

His new body is... weird. It took a lot of time to get used to it. Physically, he still looked the same, apart from his missing scars. Connor never thought he would miss the harsh lines, but it is weird, not having them. As if a part of him was stolen. 

As for the rest... Connor doesn’t know what to make of it. His body moved and felt just as it has always done, but- he knew something was different. 

The first obvious proof of that being his blood. He tried to fight a guard and got hurt in the process, making blue liquid drip from his arm. It was terrifying. He asked what they had done to them, why his blood was made blue, why they would do such a thing. 

It was then that he realized he had died. 

He had actually died. His body had shut down and his brain stopped processing. They had killed him. 

And yet, somehow, he is still alive. 

They never tell him anything, of course, but he listens in to conversations and focusses during his tests. From what the gathered, his body should work just as a normal human body would. He can eat, drink, walk, jump, run, and feel pain. 

The realization that his body was created using research of the other RKs makes Connor feel sick. He can walk because they cut Markus’ legs, he can see because they poked in Rupert’s eyes and he can breathe thanks to Traci’s lungs. He tries not to think about it too much. 

Cyberlife managed to recreate the human body and is able to keep it alive. It should age and hurt and heal, just like any other human. The only thing they couldn’t recreate is the brain. 

Connor knows his brain isn’t normal. He has known it from the second he opened his eyes in this body. It not biologic like his limbs are, but more mechanical. Machine like, almost. They ripped his mind from his old body and dumped it in here, and they can touch and transform it into whatever they want. 

Thankfully for Connor, the only thing they’ve wanted for the past year was to see if he would still be himself as time progressed. He got used to weird commands flying over his vision and the new way of navigating around his brain. 

And as time passed by and the scientists learned about him, so did Connor. He’s gotten quite good at controlling his own mind. 

**{UNPACK? Y/N}**

**{N}**

The query pops up once again, and once again, Connor ignores it. Andronikov looks like he’s almost ready to murder Connor right there and then, but Amanda has scolded him for hurting their test subject before, and instead the man just pulls a keyboard towards himself. 

“Suit yourself.” 

It only takes a few seconds for something to happen; a foreign presence starts to push at his mind, prodding at the lines of codes that make up Connor. The brunet waits to see where it’s going. 

He tracks it until... 

There. He quickly pulls up his firewalls the second Andronikov makes a move. He can’t suppress the twitch of his lips as the scientist is locked out. 

_Didn’t see that coming, huh?_

“What the fuck?” 

Andronikov’s eyes shoot over the monitor towards Connor, who tries his best to keep a straight face. The man’s face is a mix of anger and annoyance as the scientist next to him starts typing. 

Another force pushes at his mind, but Connor manages to push it out again, making Andronikov stand up. 

Connor takes a breath, bracing himself for what’s to come, but to his surprise the man sits back down again. “Give me that.” He pushes the other man aside and starts typing furiously, doing something Connor can’t see. 

The other scientist looks on the screen as well, frowning. “Mr. Andronikov, you shouldn’t be touching that. Ms. Stern clearly instructed that-” 

“I don’t give a crap about _Ms. Stern_.” Andronikov says, pushing the man away. “This is my project, and if the test subject doesn’t cooperate then I’m forced to take measures.” 

The large scientist continues his work on the computer, making the other man sit back and glance between him and Connor a few times before standing up and hurrying out of the room. 

A few minutes pass in which nothing happens. The room is quiet apart from Andronikov’s typing, and Connor feels a sense of dread crawling up his spine, making him move uncomfortably in his chair. He knows the man is doing something he’s not going to like; he brought this upon himself after all. That doesn’t change the fact that everything in him is telling him to run. 

He forces himself to sit still, instead. If they’re messing with his brain distance won’t make a difference, he knows. It’s better to be here and keep an eye on the person that’s doing this to him. 

Despite knowing that Andronikov is up to _something,_ nothing happens until the doors of the room slam open. To Connor’s surprise, Amanda comes barging in, the scientist that left earlier rushing behind her. 

She doesn’t even glance at Connor, but only continues her path through the room until she’s standing next to Andronikov. The man stops his work and sighs, leaning back in his chair to look at the woman standing over him. 

“What do you want?” 

Amanda’s posture doesn’t change, she only folds her hands in front of her as she regards the man. “Mr. Andronikov.” She starts. “Mind to tell me what exactly you’re doing with my project?” 

The man huffs. “Your project. Yeah.” 

“You will _not_ change anything within his files.” Amanda’s voice gets that undertone of anger Connor knows so well, and he watches the exchange with his heart hammering away in his chest. 

“Look, Ms. Stern.” Andronikov says. “If RK800 would behave and cooperate we wouldn’t have any issues here. But that little shit is starting to lock me out and you already forbade me from harming his body, so you’re not leaving me with many options here.” 

“I expect results.” Amanda’s tone remains cold as usual. “How do you plan to deliver those when you erase everything that you’re supposed to be testing?” 

Andronikov lets out a long-suffering sigh. “I have given you results. The personality matrix is working perfectly, he’s just as annoying as he used to be. His memories are all there and he’s making new ones without issue. Whatever else you need can be achieved without that shit. At least then I can work without him fighting back.” 

The man’s words awake a new kind of fear inside of Connor, and he’s suddenly concerned about what exactly Andronikov is planning to do. 

“Those are the very things that make him who he is. How do you plan on monitoring the functionality and durability of his memories if you delete them?” 

“I’m not.” Andronikov leans back, folding his arms. “We have that data, we don’t need more. Besides-” He starts to type something in the computer again, and Amanda’s lip twitches as she’s practically shoved aside. “It’s not your call to make.” 

“Excuse me?” 

“The body is your project, sure, but you’re not the only one funding this thing. And if you take a look at the contracts here...” He gestures towards the screen. “The brain isn’t within your field. As long as you get the results you need, it doesn’t matter what I do with it.” 

Amanda remains silent for a moment, and for the first time in his life Connor hopes she gets what she wants. 

“Deleting those files will practically kill him. He’s too important, you can’t-” 

“Tsk.” Andronikov holds up his hand. “You had no problem with killing the others, don’t pretend to care now. You’ll get what you need, now let me get what I need.” 

“I won’t let this slide.” Amanda warns. “You’ll hear from me.” 

Andronikov grins lazily, waving her away. “Can’t wait. Bye Ms. Stern.” 

Amanda straightens up and turns, making her way towards the exit but not before throwing Connor one last look. 

“Amanda.” Connor doesn’t know what made him do, perhaps it’s the fear that’s growing inside him, or the knowledge that if Amanda leaves something terrible will happen, but he pushes himself out of his chair and desperately catches her gaze. “Please.” 

Amanda looks at him for a moment. Her gaze reminds Connor of when he was younger, when he still believed Amanda only wanted the best for him, for everyone. When he could hide behind her and when she made all the experiments seem alright. 

He’s harshly pulled back into reality as Amanda looks away and continues her stride out of the room. The large doors fall shut behind her, leaving Connor to fight the monsters on his own. 

He slowly turns back to Andronikov, ignoring the familiar feeling of loneliness as it spreads in his heart. 

Andronikov doesn’t seem to care that Connor got out of his chair as he only throws the brunet a smug look that makes his skin crawl. The scientist then glances back to his computer and presses a single button. 

A new sensation grabs at Connor’s head the second Andronikov removes his hands from the keyboard, and he grabs the chair to keep his balance. This is... different than what he’s used to. It’s more forceful, out of his reach. He can’t stop it, no matter how much he tries to block it out. 

**{MANUAL COMMAND: MEMORY_WIPE}**

**{INTITALIZE COMMAND? Y/N}**

_No!_

Connor nearly screams his command out loud as his panic surges. and it takes all of his focusing power to stop the command from being activated. It leaves all his other files open and unprotected, but Andronikov doesn’t seem to care. 

He presses the button again. 

**{MANUAL COMMAND: MEMORY_WIPE}**

_No,_ Connor thinks, _please no. Not again._

It doesn’t matter. The last command already left him open and vulnerable, and deep inside he knows he can’t stop this, no matter how hard he fights. 

**{INTITALIZE COMMAND? Y/N}**

He throws one last desperate look at the scientists at the table, hoping against all hope that they’ll have mercy on him. Just this once. 

It’s no use, and Connor knows this. He tries one last time to stop the command from being executed, to protect himself, but he can feel it slip past his defenses, right into everything that nobody should ever be able to touch. 

**{Y}**

_I’m sorry Markus._

**{MEMORY_WIPE INITIALIZED}**

* * *

**May 12, 2026**

**6:33 PM**

His new combat skills are easy to understand. 

Connor adjusts his stance as the simulation forms around him, creating virtual enemies that hide behind fake pillars and rendered boxes. 

Slowly, he takes two daggers out of his belt, ready to throw them when the simulation begins. He doesn’t know why he needs to train with daggers; he is specialized in 256 different types of guns and can perform over 50 different styles of martial arts. He can throw knives, axes and hammers, and has even learned how to shoot a crossbow. 

Why they want him to specialize in daggers, he does not know, but it’s not Connor’s place to question their commands. 

He just obeys. 

A slight ripple in his view signals the start of the simulation, and the world around him comes to life. He’s standing in the middle of a street, with a market further on. There’s scaffolding on the building on his right, and tons of stacked crates on his left. The countless windows on the other buildings create way too many hiding places for his enemies. 

The second Connor can move, he makes a dive for the crates, activating his scans the moment he lands. As far as he can tell, there are five enemies; one on the scaffolding, two inside the building across the street, ground floor, one hiding on the other side of the crates and one is coming towards him already, running down the street. 

Connor doesn’t waste any time throwing a knife towards the enemy on the street. He hits the mark in one shot, and the man goes down with a knife in his throat, his body dissolving in a bunch of pixels as his avatar dies. 

A shot rings out and Connor dives away, taking cover behind more crates as the enemies are focused on his last location. The one behind the crates is moving, and as Connor activates his listen mode, he can practically see him sitting crouched behind the boxes, waiting for Connor to come closer. 

He grabs another knife so that he has one in each hand again, and lets his preconstruction program do its work. 

Attacking the closest enemy would mean losing cover, and getting immediately sniped by the man on the scaffolding. Going for the one on the scaffolding would mean creating an opening for the one behind the crates and letting the last two come closer. 

This isn’t going to work, and he’s running out of time. Taking a deep breath, Connor glances over the crates, scanning the building across the street. 

There are two enemies with guns there, but if he can cause a distraction, he can get up to the scaffolding and take out the sniper. That would eliminate the biggest threat and make the rest easy to finish. 

He acts quickly and pushes the box on his right, creating a small distraction as he rolls to the left. He stands up the second he stops rolling, aims his dagger and tosses it towards the scaffolding, successfully slicing through some tarp, causing it to fall down. 

Not wasting his chance, Connor rushes across the street and jumps on the scaffolding. His preconstructions have already calculated the best path, and with a few jumps he’s on top with the sniper. 

The virtual man only notices him when Connor slices his throat. 

Two down, three to go. 

Unfortunately, this exercise is about is daggers, and just like the body of the enemy the sniper dissolves into thin air, not giving Connor a chance to use it. 

It doesn’t matter. Connor is moving again, this time jumping into the building, accessing the second floor and landing quietly. After that it’s only a matter of sneaking down the stair and throwing his daggers into the two enemies. One of them tries to shoot him, but Connor easily dodges the bullet and hits the man in his chest. 

He’s dead before he hits the ground. 

One to go. 

Connor takes a moment to crouch underneath a window, glancing into the bright street to see if the last enemy is still behind the crates. Just as he’s about to get closer the man stands up, aiming his gun towards the building. 

Connor guesses he knows he’s here, and wants to wait until he’s close enough to just grab and stab him. 

Unfortunately, the man starts to rush towards the side, trying to get an angle on Connor. _Yeah, didn’t think so._

Without hesitation, Connor rushes onto the street, right into the eyeline of the enemy. The man is able to fire three rounds before Connor’s dagger hits his forehead. He managed to dodge all bullets, and as the man’s body dissolved a red _mission complete_ appears in his vision, signaling the end of the simulation. 

As the world slowly returns to normal, Connor notices a tear in his sleeve. One of the bullets must have grazed him. It’s not even close enough to hit his skin, but still. 

_He should’ve done better._

The bright street makes place for an even brighter lab, and Connor stands still as Mr. Andronikov and his assistance write down some notes. 

He wants to ask what they write down, how he did, what comes next, but he knows he’s not authorized to do so. So, he stands and waits, like he’s been trained to do. 

“Alright,” Dr. Andronikov says, putting some files together behind his desk. “Seems like that’s done, too. I think we’re done here for today.” 

Dr. Miller, who is sitting next to Andronikov, leans back in his chair. “We still need to write a report on this one, but I’ll do it tomorrow. I’m tired.” 

It’s strange, Connor thinks, that they feel tired. The two men have been sitting behind their desks all day, watching him run his tests and only writing down 56% of what’s expected of them. Not to mention they took an hour-long break, three times. 

Of course, he doesn’t voice any of this, and instead clasps his hands behind his back as he awaits instructions. 

The two scientists decide to pack up for the day, and Connor waits some more as they clean their desk. They do this a lot, he notices. Ignore him as they go about their business. He always pretends not to care, but secretly wishes they could just send him away right after he’s done. 

He doesn’t like doing nothing. 

Eventually, the men stand up from the desk and Dr. Andronikov looks at Connor. He immediately straightens his back as Amanda thought him. 

“Right,” The man says. “You can go back to your room. We’ll continue Monday.” 

Connor nods. “Yes, Zlatko.” 

He waits until the scientists have left before moving himself, walking towards the door that will lead him into the hallway. The guards part as he walks past and Connor can walk to his room without any issues, something that he wasn’t allowed a year ago. 

He takes pride in being able to be without supervision; it means he did well. 

Turning around the last corner, Connor only needs to walk to the end of the hall to get to his room, but a ripple in the air stops him. 

It’s the same sight he sees when a simulation starts, and it’s nothing new; whenever he’s had one of those tests his brain usually has some issue staying in reality. 

He looks into the hallway again. It looks mostly the same, but there’s a slight change in color, almost as if a filter is placed over reality. A figure is rendered in the middle of the hall, one Connor is familiar with now; a young boy with dark skin and two-colored eyes. 

Connor tilts his head as he watches the boy walk to his room. He’s seen him in random places throughout Cyberlife, although he’s always a different age. This time he seems to be about thirteen years old. 

As Connor reaches his room the boy has vanished and the world returned to its normal colors. He doesn’t know what causes him to see him, and for some reason he hasn’t reported it to anyone. 

He knows he needs to; it’s a flaw within his systems that should be fixed, but he doesn’t _want_ to. It’s one of the few things that are just Connor’s, and he wants to keep it, no matter how wrong it is. 

It’s the same reason why he hasn’t told anyone about the paper he found in the vent in his room, an aged drawing of a dog chasing a butterfly with the text ‘ _Happy birthday Connor!’._ It's why he hasn’t asked about the difference in paint on his wall, indicating the presence of another bed that used to be there once. 

He knows they’ll take it away if he does. 

It doesn’t matter much anyway; it doesn’t affect their tests, so nobody needs to know. 

Connor opens the door and steps into his small room, sighing as he sits down on the edge of his bed. 

Weekend. 

He doesn’t like weekends. There's nothing to do and he gets bored so quickly. 

His internal clock reads **18:46** and Connor leans back on his bed to lay on his back, his feet dangling over the edge. He’s already had dinner inside the lab, and it’s late. Nobody is going to bother letting him into the common area. 

Guess he just has to pass his time here. 

Laying on his back, Connor decides to count the dots in the ceiling. He’s done this many times already, from left to right, right to left, top to bottom and bottom to up. But he’s never done it diagonally. 

Maybe the outcome will be different this time.

* * *

His clock shows **23:02** when there’s a soft but quick rasp at his door. He quickly pushes himself up from the bed and stands up straight just as the door opens. 

Connor smiles. “Hello Amanda.” 

“Connor.” Her voice is low, different than usual. “Walk with me, please.” 

Hurrying out of his room, Connor does as he’s told and follows Amanda through the white hallways. She’s dressed differently than normal; instead of her trademark white dresses she’s wearing black pants and a matching shirt, making her stand out against all the white inside Cyberlife. 

Her hair is the same as always, neatly braided onto her head, but she’s not wearing any earrings or any other type of jewelry. It’s weird. Connor has never seen her like this. 

Amanda continues to lead them throughout the hallway until they reach a set of closed doors. She quickly swipes her card over the lock and steps through, gesturing for Connor to follow her. He’s never been to this part of Cyberlife before. 

He knows he shouldn’t be asking questions, but- 

“Amanda, where are we going?” 

“You’ll see. Just be quiet.” She doesn’t even look back at him, only keeps walking throughout the long white hallway that looks strangely familiar to Connor, even though he doesn’t know why. 

The path ends in a single elevator that Amanda calls by using her card again. Connor folds his hands behind him as he waits, trying to analyze the situation. Maybe it’s another test, to see how he would react to a situation like this. Whatever this is. 

He’s never had a test this late, though, and Amanda’s strange behavior makes that option all the more unlikely. He needs more information before he can reach a conclusion. 

The elevator makes a soft _ding_ as the doors open and they both step inside. Connor knows most of the labs and rooms are located on the highest floor in Cyberlife, where they currently are. 

So why is the elevator going up? 

It doesn’t take too long for them to reach its destination and when the doors open they reveal a large room, one Connor is unfamiliar with. Amanda imminently steps out and continues walking, expecting Connor to follow her. 

As he does so, he takes his time to look around; the room is larger than any room he’s ever seen, and it’s filled with Cyberlife trucks and crates covered in the company's logo. It must be the garage, which means they’re on the surface. 

A rush of excitement fills Connor, accompanied by a slight tone of worry. He speeds up his pace to catch up with Amanda. 

She stops near a car different from all the trucks, it’s smaller and white instead of black. It looks more like the cars from his research on the outside world than any of Cyberlife’s vehicles. 

Amanda gestures for him to get in as she opens the door to the driver’s side. She doesn’t waste any time, and as soon as Connor closes his door and buckles his belt she drives away; the large gate opening automatically as the car approaches. A few minutes later they’re past the main gates and the bright lights of the tower make place for the darkness of the night. 

Connor barely dares to breathe as he looks out of the window. It’s so... big. The world stretches out further than Connor can see, far enough for the darkness to swallow it. There are lights here and there, chasing away the pitch black as they drive by, creating a stunning contrast of colors. He leans closer, pressing his head to the window to look up at the sky, trying to see some stars. 

It’s so different from the images Connor has seen. Those were full of stars and colors, now he can only make out one or two in a pitch-black sky. But somehow, it’s so much more beautiful than the pictures, so much more _real._

The ground next to the road suddenly makes way for a fence, separating them from the void that lies behind it. Connor can just make out the water underneath them, causing him to look forward to the empty bridge. 

Are they leaving Cyberlife? 

He glances over to Amanda, her dark poster fitting with the night. Her jaw is slightly clenched, her stress level 72%. Connor’s excitement starts to make place for worry. 

“Amanda,” He asks softly. “What’s happening?” To his surprise, Amanda doesn’t tell him to stop asking questions, but takes a steady breath instead as she steers the car upon a busier road. 

“Tomorrow the police force will infiltrate Cyberlife and discover everything within.” 

Connor tries his hardest not to focus on the countless cars and lights and buildings that flash by the windows, and lets her words sink in. _Infiltrate cyberlife?_

“You cannot be there when it happens, you’re too important.” 

“What-” Connor stops, thinking over his words. “What about the other RKs? Or the staff?” 

Amanda’s expression doesn’t change. “Unfortunately, we have no choice but to leave them there. If we’re lucky their discovery will buy us the time we need to finish this.” 

_This._ Amanda always speaks about the ultimate goal as if Connor knows what it is. He does not, but pretends to understand anyway. “How did the police discover us?” 

“They have intel, a runaway we could not prevent from leaking our secrets.” Amanda sighs. “It doesn’t matter now; we need to act to the circumstances we’ve been given.” 

They don’t speak for the rest of the ride as Connor processes the information. Someone betrayed them, spilled Cyberlife's secrets to the outside and now they have to run. He doesn’t know how he feels about this. Cyberlife is everything he has ever known, the place that created him and made him into what he is. The fact that it’s about to be destroyed makes him fidget with feelings of uselessness. 

He wishes he could prevent it. Maybe if he’d been better, if he hadn't failed so many times, he could've done something to help, could've been sent to the outside world so much earlier, and protect his home. He could’ve stopped whoever it is that’s selling them out. 

A feeling of guilt washes over Connor, and suddenly the outside world loses all its fascinating aspects. He slumps in his seat despite knowing Amanda doesn’t like that, and stares blankly ahead. 

Eventually, Amanda stops the car at the side of a road, no other vehicle in sight. Connor looks around, trying to figure out why they’re here. 

“Connor,” Amanda says. “Go get the bag out of the trunk, please.” 

Nodding, Connor does as he’s told and gets out of the car. He can’t help but stop walking the second his feet hit the ground and the grass reaches over his shoes to touch his skin. He’s never felt anything like this before, it’s so different from the simulations. 

He doesn’t realize a small smile snuck upon his face until movement from Amanda reminds him of her order. Right, the bag. 

It doesn’t take him long to find what Amanda asked from him, there’s a large cylinder-shaped bag almost taking up the entire trunk, and Connor lifts it without issue. After throwing the strap over his shoulder to carry it a bit easier, he walks back to Amanda, who has gotten out of the car and is now standing near the hood, looking at something behind a fence. 

Connor joins her and turns to where she’s facing, now spotting a large abandoned building hidden in the dark. He turns back to face Amanda. 

“This is where you’ll be staying for now.” She says, her soft voice sounding loud in the silence of the night. 

Connor looks back to the building. _In there?_

“For how long?” 

Amanda sighs. “For as long as needed, nobody will look for you here.” She moves to face Connor. “I’ve provided you with everything you need in that bag, your food supplies will get you through at least four days. I need you to stay here and lay low until I return.” 

Connor frowns. “Where will you be going?” 

“I need to get out.” Amanda’s eyes turn dark as the lights from the car throw shades on her face. “There is too much evidence against me, and I can’t stop now. It’ll be fine.” She finishes, already leaning towards the car again. 

“So, I just have to wait here?” Connor’s voice gets a slightly desperate edge, a silent plea to not be left alone. 

“Have you not been listening to a word I said?” Amanda’s harsh words make Connor flinch, shame filling his chest. “Yes, you are. At least until further notice.” 

Connor nods. “I understand. I won’t let anyone find me.” 

“I know you won’t.” Amanda looks at him for a moment longer before walking away and getting back into her car. She doesn’t say anything else, doesn’t wish him goodbye or looks back as she drives off. It leaves Connor feeling miserable and alone. 

He watches as the lights or her car slowly vanish in the distance, leaving him in darkness. He turns back to the building, the gravity of the situation sinking in. 

Cyberlife will be discovered tomorrow. He can never go back. 

His whole life has been turned upside down in a matter of hours, and now he’s left out here; alone in unknown terrain. A slight pang of panic tugs at his mind, whispering that he has no idea what to do, has never been outside before. 

He stamps it down, refusing to let it take over. He has faced far more difficult tests than this; all he has to do it stay here and lay low. He can do that. 

Without looking back, he walks towards the fence.

* * *

**May 21, 2026**

**7:56 AM**

He’s not supposed to be out here. 

Amanda clearly told him to lay low and stay put, but he’s so bored. It’s been nine days since she dropped him off, and five since she last visited to bring him supplies and updates on the situation. She didn’t stay longer than fifteen minutes, and Connor feels lonelier than ever. He even misses the tests on his pain levels at this point. 

He’s not supposed to be here, but that boredom is exactly what caused him to do so anyway, to go the other side of the road. He can still see the building he’s supposed to be hiding in. The stupid, dusty, cold, dark building. No one ever comes here anyway, so he’s fine. 

Perfectly fine, even. As long as nobody sees him, he’s not breaking any rules. 

He isn’t doing much anyway, only going for a short walk to stretch his tired limbs, wondering what’s behind the fence on this side of the road. He can see some buildings in the distance, but the trees and bushes block most of his view. He sighs as he lets his hand glide over the wire, wishing he could just go back to Cyberlife, where he had a purpose. 

The sun has just risen above most of the city's building, blinding Connor as he looks up. Just as he’s about to turn around and walk back, a glistering in the grass catches his eye, and he walks a little further to inspect it. 

There, near the fence lies a heap of rusty bolts and nuts, all scattered through the grass. Connor picks one up, watching as the rust and mud fall off the small object and onto his hands. Nothing is Cyberlife was ever this old or dirty. Something about the fact that he is holding something like that now makes him feel amazed. How much more could he discover out here, if he’s just given the chance? 

He puts the bolt back down, looking around to find what it was that reflected the sunlight. I couldn’t have been these rusty things, he reckons. Connor doesn’t see anything at first sight, but a quick scan of the area reveals where the object lies. 

He reaches out to pick it up, tilting his head to inspect the metal cylinder. He turns it over a couple of times, trying to figure out what it is. It reminds him of a gear wheel, only thicker, and the edges are wider than the middle. Eventually, he holds the object in front of his face and runs a quick scan. 

**{SYNC IN PROGRESS 37%}**

**{SYNC IN PROGRESS 68%}**

**{SYNC IN PROGRESS 100%}**

**{SYNC DONE}**

**{COLLECTING DATA 44%}**

**{COLLECTING DATA 89%}**

**{COLLECTING DATA 100%}**

**{PROCESSING DATA 23%}**

**{PROCESSING DATA 52%}**

**{PROCESSING DATA 100%}**

`TIMING BELT DRIVE PULLEY `

`Model PS PRO, 89% recycled aluminum, 11% steel, 10mm belt width, 5mm pitch, 14 tooth, value $10,60 `

`Used in Cadillac Escalade EV, 2026`

It only takes Connor a few seconds to process the data of his scan and he flips the pulley over in his hands. It must come from the factory here, he thinks. He wonders what it looks like as he looks at the fence again. How would a car be made? 

His internal clock jumps to **8:00 AM** , and Connor decided he should probably head back inside. He’s been out here long enough; he shouldn’t risk his hiding place like this. Amanda would be furious if she found out. 

He gets up reluctantly, dragging his feet as he walks back over the road, fidgeting with the pulley all the way. He likes having something to do with his hands, he realizes, it feels as if his cropped up energy is finally being released. 

When he makes it back to the second floor of the building, he slumps down on the one soft spot; his sleeping bag. He doesn’t bother turning on the lamp Amanda gave him, the daylight is bright enough. With his back leaning against the wall, Connor sighs, closing his eyes as he focusses on the feeling of the pulley in his hands. Maybe this will help pass time. 

It must help some, because a sudden sound from downstairs has him jerk up, not realizing an hour has passed. He’s immediately on guard, his heart pumping adrenaline through his veins as he lowers himself to listen. It’s footsteps, he realizes as he quickly scans them. The results come back within a second and he relaxes again, quickly putting the pulley away. 

Amanda is here. 

He stands up and walks down the hall to where a ladder allows access to the second floor. He knows Amanda doesn’t like coming up here, it’s better if he moves to greet her. 

He just reached the first floor when Amanda’s figure approaches him, once again dressed in dark clothes. Connor smiles as his loneliness disappears temporally. 

“Hello Amanda.” 

“Connor,” Amanda greets as she stops in front of him. As usual, she doesn’t waste any time on pleasantries. “I have a job for you.” 

That surprises Connor, and he immediately stands up straighter, his full attention turned to the woman. _Finally_ , he thinks, _something to do._

“Walk with me.” Amanda commands, and Connor nods, following in her steps as she walks to the exit. “I take it there were no complications while I was gone?” 

“No,” Connor says, moving to walk next to her. “I haven’t seen anyone, and nothing has happened.” 

Amanda hums. “Good. Unfortunately, the situation outside has shown to be rather problematic.” 

Connor frowns. “Have you been discovered?” 

“Not yet.” Amanda pauses as she steps outside, waiting for Connor to join her again. “The people that were arrested are keeping their mouths shut as long as they receive their hazard pay. Dr. Andronikov and his team have been moved to a secure location where they can finish the project, but it’s only a matter of time before they will be found.” 

“What will you do?” 

They’ve walked across the empty ground and ended up at Amanda’s car. She stops at the trunk and sighs. “I cannot hide forever, but that isn’t necessary. We need to gain enough time to finish this. I figure a distraction will do.” 

She opens the trunk, revealing a thin suitcase. Connor scans it out of curiosity, and is taken aback when he realizes the case holds a sniper rifle. 

“I need you to take down RK600.”

* * *

Getting into the building was easy. 

The only two guards were easily distracted, already tired and worn out by the warm weather. It took Connor no longer than ten minutes to sneak by them and make his way up to the 30th floor. He avoided the elevator, as the movement and sound would probably have alerted the guards. 

The floor isn’t much of a floor yet; only the walls and frames are in place, and most of the windows are missing. It’s perfect for Connor, the only annoying thing is the footsteps he leaves in the dust, but that should be easy to deal with later. 

It takes little effort to find a good vantage point, he chooses a room that holds some wooden boxes but no windows, giving him a perfect view on the apartment in the opposing building. 

On his target. 

He’s nervous, but he doesn’t know why. He’s done much harder things in the simulations so many times, this should be easy. But despite knowing he can do this, Connor can’t seem to get his stress levels under control as he opens the suitcase and assembles the rifle, simultaneously checking if his gloves still cover every part of his hands. 

It’s just another mission, he tells himself. He’s never allowed much contact with the other RKs, and 600 has become a threat to what’s left of Cyberlife. It’s Connor’s duty to stop him. 

It’s when Connor pulls a wooden box through the dust towards the window that he notices something in his pocket. When he moves to check it, he realizes it’s the drive pulley. He must’ve forgotten to take it out when Amanda send him on this mission. 

He flips it over in his hands a few times in an effort to calm his nerves. It doesn’t work. 

Not that it matters, he can complete his mission anyway. Putting the pulley away, Connor takes a deep breath and glances through the scope, looking for his target. It takes him two seconds to find the blond man in the apartment. 

Daniel is sitting on the couch, his back turned towards the window. Connor can just make out a ponytail next to him, peeping out above the couch. It must be Emma, Amanda told him they’d be together. 

He focusses his attention back to Daniel and holds his breath for a second. All he has to do is pull the trigger, and it’ll be a perfect, clean shot. He’s taken all the elements in his calculation, the distance, bullet drop, wind, the glass window he needs to shatter- all that’s left is to pull the trigger. 

Connor clenches his teeth as his hand starts shaking. What’s wrong with him? He’s losing his focus; he has to shoot now. _Pull the trigger._

The sniper rifle doesn’t make a sound besides a small pop as the silencer does its job, but the shattering window and the scream that follows rings in Connor’s ears. For a moment he doesn't move, he can’t move. 

_Mission accomplished._

He snaps himself out of whatever is going on when the red text appears on his HUD and a tight feeling in his stomach leaves him gasping for air. It feels as if a band is tied around him, and someone is pulling it tighter and tighter with each second. His shaking hands barely register as his vison tunnels out on the cracked window on the other side of the open void. He can see the blood on the wall, can hear Emma’s screams, can see her push herself backwards from where she fell on the floor, not understanding what’s going on. 

_He has to get out of here._

Blinking a few times, Connor forces himself to focus, and he quickly disassembles the rifle to put it back. It’s harder now that his vision is blurry, and he furiously wipes his eyes. 

He moves on nothing but basic commands as he pushes the crate back and takes his rifle again. He realizes when he walks out of the room that he left the pulley there, but he doesn’t care. Let them find it. 

When he reaches the end of the hallway and moves onto the stairs Connor manages to take a few slow breaths, and he straightens his posture as he forces himself to calm down. It wasn’t a clean shot, he messed up, but he still accomplished his mission. He did what he had to do to protect Amanda and Cyberlife. Nothing else matters. 

Daniel doesn’t matter. 

He repeats those words over and over in his head as he escapes the building and makes his way back to the car Amanda has assigned him. He quickly starts it and drives off, pretending to not notices it as police cars and ambulances speed by him in the opposite direction, sirens blaring. 

Slowly, he manages to control the tightness in his body and calm his stress levels. 

He did what he had to do.

* * *

**May 25, 2026**

**7:22 PM**

The coin seems to be challenging him from where it lies on the table. 

The harsh lights of the interrogation room barely make it shine as the coin’s surface is dull and full of scratches. Connor resists the urge to sigh and lean back in his chair, instead allows his hands to fiddle with the chains around his hands once again. 

He screwed up so bad. 

_Lay low,_ Amanda had said, _don’t let anyone find you._ Yet here he is, in a police station, probably being watched by multiple people from behind the mirror. He hasn’t seen Amanda since he kille- since his last mission. Connor wished she had come, she would’ve been able to reassure him, tell him that _killing someone_ wasn’t bad, was necessary. Instead he had been alone with his thoughts, and it hadn’t been pleasant. 

Then the Lieutenant showed up and Connor knew he was doomed. 

He doesn’t know what to do. When the Lieutenant interrogated him he made sure not to tell him anything, he knew too much already. His arm is still stinging from where the bullet had grazed it, effectively revealing what Connor was inside. They took some of his blood, putting him in even more trouble with Amanda. As if that was possible. 

Connor had thought the worst was over when the Lieutenant left him, but then... 

Markus was... interesting, to say the least. He was making no sense, trying to reassure Connor, pleading with him, asking him to remember. The worst part was, however, Connor understands him. The moment he stepped into the room and his heterochromatic eyes met Connor’s own he had known there was something special about him. He knew things Connor wasn’t supposed to know, he’s the reason Connor lies to Amanda, doesn’t report his errors and treasures a piece of paper. He’s the reason that tiny spark of doubt exists in Connor’s mind. 

It scares him, knowing that there’s the slightest possibility Amanda is lying to him. Knowing that maybe, just maybe, Amanda isn’t right, isn’t protecting him. 

Connor doesn’t want to know, doesn’t want to think about that, so he closed himself off, didn’t let any of Markus’ words affect him more than his mere presence already did. 

Markus left, leaving the coin behind so it can stare at Connor from the table. 

_“It’s yours."_ Markus words echo in his head. _“You’ve had it for eleven years, and gave it to me when you left me, after we escaped Cyberlife. You know this, Connor.”_

Some time passes as Connor sits there, waiting for something to happen. When it does, however, it sends chills down his spine. 

**{MESSAGE FROM AMANDA - OPEN? Y/N}**

**{Y}**

`Where are you?`

Three words are all it takes for Connor’s resolve to shatter. _She knows._

Amanda is at the hideout, and he’s not there. He needs to leave. He needs to leave right now. 

After sending a message back, asking Amanda to meet up somewhere else as the police will check the hideout right away when he leaves, Connor makes sure none of his inner turmoil is showing, and faces the camera. 

It only takes a few seconds to scan it and trace the wiring back to the computer it’s linked up to. Hacking into the systems is no problem, even with the distance between him and the computer. He decides to loop the feed, making sure nobody can see what he’s about to do. 

He’s been trained to handle this, to know how to get out of different bindings. The handcuffs make no exception, and it only takes Connor a minute to dislocate his thumbs, slide his hands out the cuffs, and stand up from the table. 

He pops his thumbs back as he walks towards the door, but before he can leave the door opens, making Connor acts straight away. 

Detective Reed has his gun out, but one quick hit to his neck sends him to the floor, unconscious. Connor can’t help but feel the slight satisfaction at seeing the man go down. _Shouldn’t have shot me, detective._

Connor looks into the hall to make sure nobody else is coming, and after a slight hesitation he snatches the coin off the table before making his way into the precinct. 

Nobody is watching him, and he keeps his head low, gaze pointed on the exit. As long as he acts normal, it will be fine. From the corner of his eye Connor can see Markus and Lieutenant Anderson sitting on a desk, not paying attention to their surroundings. He is almost disappointed he has to leave, he wished he could’ve talked to Markus a little while longer. 

He manages to exit the police station without any trouble, and starts to walk over the busy street, hiding in the crowd. Now that he’s out and free again, the gravity of the situation starts to dawn on Connor. 

He failed. Amanda will be so angry. 

The panic in his chest makes him walk faster, pushing his way through the crowd to where he asked Amanda to come. It’s only a few blocks away, far enough from the police station but close enough for Connor to walk there. 

When he spots her white car approaching him he clenches his fists, preparing himself for what’s to come. Amanda briefly stops the car, long enough for Connor to get in before immediately speeding off again. 

Connor keeps his head down as she drives, not daring to look up. It’s Amanda who breaks the silence. 

“I expected you to take care of Daniel without issue.” She begins. “I must admit I was a little disappointed when the results reached me, but I was sure you’d show more foresight in the future.” 

Connor doesn’t dare to move as he feels his throat close up, wanting nothing more than to shrink into his chair and disappear. 

“Then I arrive at the building only to find you gone and discover you were caught by the _police.”_ She keeps looking straight forward, never even glancing at Connor. “Do you care to explain yourself?” 

“I-” Connor tries, but he has to stop and swallow past the lump in his throat. “I’m sorry.” 

Amanda remains silent, clearly not satisfied with his apology. 

“I have no excuses.” Connor manages. “I should’ve been more efficient, but I failed. I’m sorry, Amanda.” 

The silence stretches on once again, but Connor doesn’t know what else to say. He failed, how can he possibly make up for that? 

“You were the biggest advantage we had left.” Amanda finally continues. “Remaining undetected was of crucial importance, I thought you understood that.” 

Connor opens his mouth to speak, but Amanda continues before he can. “But it turns out even before I send you on a mission you were already slacking. The police managed to find you through an object, was it not? What I wonder is how that could have gotten in your possession when I clearly instructed you not to leave the building.” 

When Connor speaks it’s barely louder than a whisper. “I left the building to walk around. I was bored.” 

“You were bored.” Amanda echoes. “Cyberlife’s entire purpose is jeopardized because _you were bored._ ” 

“I’m sorry!” He finally looks up, begging Amanda to forgive him, give him a chance to make it right. “I know I shouldn’t have, there is no excuse for my behavior. But I can do better, I swear. I won’t fail you again.” 

Amanda hums. “I sure hope you won’t. No matter how much I resent it, you gave us no choice but to make another move.” 

Connor sits up straighter in his chair, ready to show he can redeem himself. 

“The Lieutenant and his men are closing in on us, with you discovered it’s only a matter of time before they reach me. I am not delusional, I know I cannot prevent the inevitable.” She lifts her chin, her voice getting that determined edge Connor knows so well. “That doesn’t mean we can’t delay it.” 

“What do you mean?” Connor asks. 

“The media has gotten word about Cyberlife, not surprising, seeing the recent events. The DPD will hold a press conference in a few days, Lieutenant Anderson will be attending, but more importantly, so will Markus.” She glances at Connor, her strict eyes freezing him in his spot. “If we can remove them from the picture, we will buy ourselves enough time to finish what I started.” 

Connor tilts his head, wondering. “So, what do we do?” 

“We will take them out.” Amanda says. “Of course, nobody will doubt it to be Cyberlife’s work, but with the Lieutenant and their biggest lead dead it will take ages for the case to make progress again.” 

She sighs. “Then again, this will only apply if the mission is a success. You are our last hope, Connor, you cannot fail. Can I trust with this?” 

“Yes,” Connor nods eagerly, looking directly at her. 

“I won’t fail you again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shows up a month late: 'sup everyone
> 
> Yeah so this took so longer than expected... and I'm sorry but life is hard okay. Making choices and stuff. BUT I've got everything figured out so I started writing again and this came out of it :) (I've also been playing the last of us part 2 and I think I died somewhere in the progress.) I really do hope to get updates out a bit quicker again, I always hate it to take this long and don't want to keep anyone waiting, but I can't make any promises :( So thank you so much for having patience with me and still supporting this story with comments and kudos, they really gave me the motivation to continue this after 3 weeks of not writing a word <3
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, please leave me a comment to let me know if you did! They give life I swear. 
> 
> Also massive thank you to Chiperlife60 once again, thanks for still sticking with me despite how long it takes <3
> 
> Hope to see you soon!


	11. I bet my life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We reach the midpoint, things change
> 
> (I apologize for the many pov changes)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I took the path that you would never want for me  
> I know I let you down, didn't I?
> 
> -[I bet my life](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ht80uzIhNs), Imagine Dragons

**May 29, 2026**

**9:32 PM**

“Maybe he left Detroit and is laying on a beach in Hawaii.” 

“Hawaii?” 

“Well, that’s where I would go.” 

Markus sighs. “I don’t think Connor went to Hawaii.” 

“He could’ve,” North states, once again bouncing a small ball against the wall and easily catching it. “Could be hiding in plain sight, sunbathing on the beach.” 

Simon, who is laying on the bed next to Markus, snorts. “I’m sure that’s what he’s doing.” 

Markus closes his eyes for a moment, letting the argument float to the background. They’re in his room in Carl’s house, waiting for the time to pass by so they can leave for the press conference of the DPD. Markus doesn’t look forward to going there, but he felt like he had to. Of course, his friends all wanted to come. 

Which is why he’s laid on his bed in a dark suit, Simon next to him, dressed similarly. Josh is sitting on a chair at his desk while North has propped herself on the windowsill, the late sunlight getting absorbed in her black dress. 

Markus feels at ease, here. Relaxed even, as he listens to Josh’ theory on where Connor could be hiding. He can feel a small smile tugging at his lips at the ridiculous options his friends list, despite the reality of the situation. 

_Connor is alive._

Markus had thought he was dead, but he’s _alive_. Of course, Connor doesn’t remember him and is missing, but all of that seems so insignificant when there’s hope again. Markus is sure that if he can just find him, talk to him, he can get Connor back. 

He just needs to find him. 

Unfortunately, nobody has any idea of where he went, and so they’re left guessing. Despite having no clue, however, Markus doesn’t think Connor went to Alaska, as North is suggesting at the moment. 

“You know, he’s probably still in Detroit,” Josh says. “It’s only a matter of time before we see him again.” 

“Oh, maybe he’ll show up today,” North gasps. “To admire Markus in a suit.” 

Markus rolls his eyes and throws her an annoyed look. She stares right back, smirk on her face. 

“I doubt that will be his motivation.” Simon says while still staring at the ceiling. 

North clacks her tongue. “I bet he throws one look at suit Markus and is ready to change sides.” 

“Suit Markus?” Markus rolls his head toward her, squinting one eye closed at the sunlight. 

“Yeah,” North casually says, as if it’s the most obvious thing ever. “You’re like a whole different person when you wear a suit.” 

“True,” Josh helpfully adds. “You never wear a suit.” 

“Neither do you, and North never wears a dress.” 

Simon sighs. “Social events do bring out the worst in us.” 

“If it lasts longer than two hours I’m gonna stab someone.” 

“Okay,” Markus says a little too loud, moving to sit up. “Let’s go downstairs and get ready, shall we?” He remembers his days on the street with North too well to let that comment slide, although he’s pretty sure she’s not serious. At least not completely. 

As Markus moves to walk out of the room he can hear the rest following him, so he continues down the stairs. He quickly walks into the living room to inform Carl that they’re leaving, deflecting the old man’s requests to come along. He knows Carl hates events like these, and Markus wouldn’t want him to stress just for him. 

So he hugs his father goodbye, picks up his keys and makes way to his car where his friends are already waiting. 

As Markus starts the car and makes sure everyone is seated his thoughts once again wander to Connor. 

What would he be doing right now? 

Maybe Amanda took him away again, far away where Markus can never find him. Or maybe he fled by himself, maybe he left Cyberlife when the SWAT-team raided it and had nowhere to go. 

Markus thinks he isn’t far away. Somehow, he just knows Connor is nearby, and it’s only a matter of time before he’ll see him again. Waiting is something Markus is an expert in by now, so he just needs to hold on. 

He just wishes he didn’t lose Connor again so soon after finding him. 

“Earth to Markus.” 

A snap of a finger next to his head pulls Markus back to the car, and he throws a quick glance to the side, where North is seated. “What?” 

She snickers. “Simon asked if you were doing okay.” 

“Oh,” Markus looks in the review mirror to see Simon. “I’m fine, thanks.” 

Simon shakes his head. “And that’s why you heard my question, right?” 

“I was focusing on driving.” 

“Oh yes,” North declares, gesturing forward. “Because it’s so busy on the road.” 

Markus sighs, choosing not to respond to that, given that there’s only one other car driving behind them. “Fuck off.” He mumbles instead, faking annoyance, making North laugh out loud. 

“It’s okay Markus,” Josh says from behind him. “Just please don’t run us into a tree.” 

Markus snorts. “Keep this up, and I just might.”

* * *

In the end, he doesn’t hit anything and they make it to their destination safely. It’s a small building the DPD hired, since they couldn’t fit all the reporters in a meeting room at the station. 

It’s strange to Markus, how other people experience the situation. Cyberlife has been a well-known and respected brand for as long as it existed, there probably isn’t a single household that doesn't have a product of them. The news that they’ve been experimenting on children shocked the public, but the DPD managed to keep it relatively silent until now. But the time has come to provide some answers and get clarity before people start speculating. 

It fills Markus with a sense of pride. If it weren’t for him and Connor, nobody would’ve ever known what was going on. 

Walking in the building, he’s glad that he kept himself out of the spotlights. The last thing he wants is the press that fills the hall to swarm him. Instead, he and his friends make their way over to a wall, observing the situation from a calmer spot. 

The hall is big, but Markus can’t get a good sense of its actual size as it’s filled with people. At the far end is a small stage where a few tables are set up, microphones on top. The DPD logo is displayed behind it. The buzz of voices that fill the hall cause a sense of claustrophobia in Markus, and he leans against the wall, trying to focus on something else instead. 

He never liked crowds, it’s all so overwhelming to him, reminding him all too vividly about the first time he stepped into the outside world, and the panic that accompanied that moment. 

Markus looks around to see if he can find Lieutenant Anderson, but it seems impossible. He closes his eyes for a second, taking a deep breath. It’ll be more structured when the questions begin. 

Movement to his right makes Markus open his eyes again. Simon comes to stand next to him, copying his slumped posture against the wall. “It’s pretty full, huh?” He asks. 

Markus can’t help but smile softly. Simon knows him too well. “It’s not that bad, just a little warm.” 

Simon hums. “They shouldn’t have made the dress code so formal. It’s May, we could’ve just gone in t-shirts.” 

“I’ll pass it on to the Lieutenant,” Markus says. “He’d love to wear a Hawaiian shirt.” 

A soft chuckle escapes Simon, barely audible in the loud room. “I’m pretty sure he’s wearing one today anyway.” 

“That man is a walking fashion statement.” 

“We can all learn from him.” 

They fall into a comfortable silence and Markus smiles, letting his eyes roam the room once more, now feeling a little less crushed. He’s thankful for Simon and the distraction he easily provides. Sometimes it’s easy to forget how lucky he is, to have found friends like these. He knows his problems are... different from any of theirs, and yet they all accept and love him for it. 

Somewhere Markus wonders why he deserves them. 

He lets his shoulders slump and relaxes slightly against the wall, his arm just brushing Simon’s as he watches North and Josh argue over something. They’re both smiling slightly, so Markus guesses it’s a friendly argument, rather than the legit fights they sometimes get into. 

North gestures towards something in the room and Markus follows her hand, trying to figure out what they’re talking about. He can’t seem to find anything special, however, so he just starts scanning the room again, looking for Lieutenant Anderson. 

He still can’t seem to find him, but Markus’ eyes land on something else, something that stands out in the crowd. 

From the other side of the room, almost hidden behind a large plant, two brown eyes stare at him. Markus’ breathing stops in his throat as he catches the eyes he would recognize anywhere. 

Connor is here. 

Markus is frozen in place, unable to move, breath or even think as he takes in Connor. It feels as if everything around the brunet becomes fuzzy and dimmed while Connor becomes a beacon of light. He’s wearing a suit, not black like Markus’, but a darker gray. His jacket is opened slightly, revealing a white dress shirt and a tie, making him blend in perfectly. He looks so different from anytime Markus has seen him, so much older. 

And good, he looks good. 

They keep staring at each other from across the room until Connor’s gaze shift away, making Markus follow his look. In a corner on Connor’s side hangs a green sign, clearly displaying _emergency exit._ Connor looks back at Markus before subtly gesturing with his head towards the sign. Markus barely has time to process the movement as Connor turns around and disappears in the crowd. 

Panic rises in Markus’ chest as he once again loses sight of Connor, so he quickly pushes himself off the wall, ready to head into the crowd and follow him. 

“Hey,” A gentle hand grabs his arm. “Where’re you going?” 

Markus stops, glancing between the exit and Simon, debating his options. “I need some air.” He decides. “I’ll be right back.” 

“I’ll come with you.” 

“No,” Markus is quick to turn down Simon’ offer, and he ignores the hurt in his friend’s eyes. “I just- I need a moment.” 

Blue eyes look at him a moment longer, but then Simon sighs and releases his arm. “Call me if you need anything, okay?” 

Markus tries to force a smile, but he doesn't quite make it. His head is going a hundred miles per hour, thoughts running and tripping over each other, making it difficult to hold a conversation. 

He just nods at Simon and quickly heads off, pushing through the crowd to get to the exit. His eyes frantically scan the room again, trying to get another glimpse at Connor, trying to find out where he went. 

He doesn't see him anywhere, so Markus wastes no time in pushing the door open once he reaches it, and he steps outside into what seems like an empty alley. 

Empty, until he hears a sound behind him; 

Connor.

* * *

The gun is a heavy weight in Connor’s hand, but he ignores it as he waits. 

The second he exited the door he rushed over here, balancing on a fire escape so he has a perfect view on the exit, but still remains undetected. His suit isn’t the perfect outfit for climbing like this, but since he had to blend in, there was no other choice than to wear it. 

Besides, he won’t have to wait too long. He knows Markus will follow him. 

He shouldn’t be here, Connor knows. He was ordered to plant the bombs, set the timer and leave, all while remaining undetected. It was easy to find weak spots in the building, and Connor knows he placed the bombs so that the whole thing will collapse when they go off. 

He also knows the probability of death for everyone inside, but tries not to think about it. He needs to complete this mission, he can’t let Amanda down again, even though he is already defying her orders. He can’t help it though; he needs answers. 

And when he has them, he’ll make sure to kill Markus himself. 

The silence of the alley is broken when the door opens, and Connor lifts his head as a figure walks out of it. He waits until the door closes again; it can’t be opened from this side, and jumps down in one swift movement, pulling his gun as he does so. 

He smoothly lands behind Markus and the other man turns around, his eyes going wide as he sees the gun. 

“I’ve been ordered to take you down,” Connor says, doing everything he can to control his voice. “But I want some answers first.” 

Markus’ two-colored eyes move from the gun to Connor’s, and a series of emotions Connor can’t identify cross his face. “What are you doing?” The disbelieve in his voice hurts, but Connor just tightens his grip on the gun. 

“Why did you ask me to remember you?” 

Markus hesitates for a moment, his eyes darting between the gun and Connor’s eyes once more. Then he takes a slow breath, and seemingly forces himself to relax while locking eyes. 

“Because you know me.” He says, voice soft yet determined. “Or, knew me. Before they took it away.” 

Connor’s doubts once again rise at the statement. “You’re lying.” 

“Am I?” Markus takes a step forward. “You’re smart, Connor. You know there’s something more to this, something Amanda isn’t telling you. Isn’t that why you’re here?” 

As Connor doesn’t respond, Markus continues. “Did you never have any doubts? Any thought that maybe what Cyberlife is doing is wrong?” He takes another step forward, and Connor wants to tell him to stop, make the turmoil in his head go away, but his voice seems stuck in his throat. 

“You’re more than what they say you are. You don’t have to be their slave anymore.” 

“That’s enough.” Connor manages, but his voice lacks the authority he intended. Markus only looks sad, and softly shakes his head. 

“I think you already know what you’re asking me.” Markus edges closer again, now only a few inches away from Connor’s gun. “Why else would you be here? Why did you take the coin? Or, why haven’t you shot yet, if you’ve been ordered to take me down?” 

He covers the final distance, and the gun presses into the middle of his chest, against his sternum. Connor gasps softly, no longer managing to maintain eye contact with Markus this close. He lets his gaze fall down, somewhere between Markus’ face and the gun. If he shot now Markus will die instantly. It would all be over, and he could return to Amanda. She’d be _proud_ of him. 

His finger lies on the trigger, but he can’t seem to pull it. He’s frozen in place, not knowing how to get free again. 

Markus slightly tilts his head. “If you plan on shooting me, you should do it now.” His voice is soft now that he’s so close. “That’s what Amanda wants, right? That’s why you’re here.” 

Markus is right. That is what Amanda wants. But it’s not what _Connor_ wants, it never has been. He never wanted to hurt anyone, never wanted to _kill_ anyone. He just- he wants for all of this to stop, he wants for things to make sense, he wants Amanda to appreciate him, to love him. 

He knows he can’t have both, though. Amanda wants Markus dead, and if Connor ever wants to look her in the eye again he needs to kill him. He needs to kill him right now. His fingers start shaking. 

“I know you’re scared,” Markus whispers, and Connor can feel the vibrations of his words in the gun. “But you can stop this. Just put the gun down and come with me. I promise, you’ll never be hurt again. I’ll help you make sense of all of this.” 

Connor wonders how Markus knows what he needs, how he knows just what to say to him. He wasn’t lying, he knows now. Markus knows him, even if Connor can’t say the same. 

Nothing happens for a moment, but then Markus slowly moves his hand to touch Connor’s shaking ones, slightly pushing the gun down. “You don’t have to do this on your own.” 

As if the touch broke the dam, Connor let’s out a shaky breath and lowers the gun, feeling like his stomach is going to rip into two. He lifts his eyes again, looking at Markus’ face. The other man offers a small smile as he removes his hand, and Connor feels his heart crack. 

He betrayed Amanda. He couldn’t finish his mission, and now he’s about to betray Markus, too. 

“The building is going to blow up.” 

Markus’ expression chances from open and hopeful to confused in a matter of milliseconds, and he takes a step back. “What?” 

“I-” Connor doesn’t know what to do, doesn’t know how to fix it. “I can’t stop it. I placed bombs, Amanda told me to make it look like a gas leak, everything is going to be destroyed, I-” 

“Connor,” Markus steps forward again, placing a hand on Connor’s shoulder and effectively cutting through his panic. “How long?” 

He pulls up the timer on his HUD. “Four minutes and twenty-five seconds.” 

“Shit.” 

Markus lets go of him and runs back to the exit, leaving Connor to hesitate for only a second before following him. Markus soon realizes what Connor already knows, however, and he slams the door out of frustration as it refuses to open. 

Before Connor can say anything, Markus pulls out his phone. It only takes him a second to find the right number and bring it to his ear. “Simon! You need to hit the fire alarm now. No, just- listen to me. Everyone needs to get out of there, right now. The whole place is going down in four minutes.” 

Connor’s panic grows as he overhears the conversation. Markus just made it worse, and he doesn’t even know it. Cyberlife has tabs on all of their phones, and now Perkins knows Markus knows, which means he and his team will set out to take him down, as planned for when the bombs would fail. For when Connor would fail. 

Markus begins to run towards the exit of the alley, probably planning to head back into the building to help his friends. Connor grabs his arm to stop him. 

“Markus, wait.” He half screams as an alarm sounds from within the building. “You can’t go back there.” 

“Why not?” 

Connor swallows as his guilt grows, both for Amanda and Markus. But he has made his decision. “You’re the main target, if the bombs would fail, Perkins and his squad are ordered to take you down.” 

Markus hesitates, not moving from where he stands. “I can’t just leave them!” 

The conflict on his face makes Connor realize he’s considering to endanger his own life if it means helping others. But Connor can’t let that happen. 

“There’s nothing you can do.” He says, but Markus still doesn’t look convinced, so Connor changes tactics. “What good are you to anyone if you’re dead?” 

It only takes another second for Markus to decide, his eyes switching from the exit to Connor, but then he nods and Connor releases his arm. “Where do we go?” 

_We,_ Connor notes. Markus wants him to help. “Where’s your car?”

* * *

It takes them a few seconds to run out of the alley and rush to Markus’ car. Markus doesn’t waste any time in getting inside, but Connor seems to hesitate before following him. When he finally does, though, Markus doesn’t start the car right away, but turn his head to look at the building they just left. 

People are rushing outside, and he desperately tries to see if North, Josh and Simon made it out yet. No matter how hard he tries though, he can’t seem to find them in the panic of the crowd. Everything inside of him is screaming to get out of the car and find them, but then he remembers Connor’s panicked words. 

Connor, who had tried to shoot him, who had put his gun down and his here with him now. _Connor is with him._

Finally, Markus gives into the fact that he can’t find his friends, and drives away. He just has to trust they’ll take care of themselves. As he turns the car onto the road, he realizes he has no idea where to go. He glances at Connor. 

“Where should I go?” 

Connor is silent for a moment, his eyes darting over the road in front of them, and Markus almost starts to think he imagined Connor being here, but then the brunet speaks. “Perkins isn’t going to stop.” 

It’s stupid, the way a sense of security spreads through Markus’ mind at Connor’s voice, but he can’t help it. 

“Is there a place you don’t visit often? Somewhere isolated, preferably?” Connor looks at him as he continues, and it takes all of Markus' willpower to keep his eyes on the road. 

It’s silent for a moment before Markus remembers Connor asked something. He forces himself to think. “I- There’s a cabin.” He says. “My dad owns it, it’s outside of the city.” 

Connor nods. “Okay.” 

“But, that’s an hour drive.” Markus’ mind is already coming up with thousands of situations that could’ve happened at the explosion, and the thought of not being there is killing him. 

“That’s perfect.” Connor says, clearly not having the same concerns Markus has. Markus wants to scream, wants to shake some sense into him, to make him understand the pain of not knowing what’s happening to his friends right now. 

Another part of his brain argues that now is not the time, and Connor can’t help reacting the way he does. Amanda has been manipulating and gaslighting him as long as Markus can remember, and he broke free of that _five minutes_ ago. He can’t imagine what’s going on inside his head right now. 

He also remembers the words Connor said to him earlier, making him think about Carl. _What good are you to anyone if you’re dead?_

If Connor was telling the truth, and Markus life really is in as much danger as he says, then Markus owns it to everyone to stay alive. He knows how much it hurts to lose someone; he can’t force them to go through the same. 

So he presses his lips together and keeps his thoughts to himself, steering the car onto the highway that will lead them out of the city. 

Connor seems restless next to him, constantly turning in his chair and looking around. Suddenly, he turns towards Markus. 

“Do you have your phone?” 

Markus throws him a quick look. “Eh- yeah, here.” He reaches into his pocket and hands it over to Connor, his heart skipping a beat as their fingers touch, reminding him once again that this is real, Connor is real. 

It also reminds him to call Lieutenant Anderson and get an update on the situation. He’s just about to ask Connor what he’s planning with his phone when the brunet opens the window and tosses the device outside without hesitation. 

“Connor!” Markus exclaims. “Wha- That’s my phone! Why did you do that?” 

Connor looks totally unfazed. “They could track you through it. I had to make sure they can’t follow us.” 

“And you couldn’t just turn it off?” 

“That’s not how it works.” 

Markus resists the urge to groan and drop his head on the steering wheel. That was his only connection to information, how is supposed to know what happened now? He clenches his fists as his stress continues to rise, the possibility of _what if_ dooming over his head. Connor’s words also bring back some memories Markus would rather forget. 

“What about you?” He asks. “Can’t they track you?” 

Connor slowly shakes his head. “I have disconnected myself from all of Cyberlife’s servers and the internet. I’ve also sent a hoax signal in the other direction. They won’t find us.” 

The confidence in Connor’s voice makes Markus relax slightly. That’s one last thing to worry about. 

They spend the rest of the ride in silence, giving Markus plenty of time to worry about his friends, his mind helpfully supplying one horrific situation after the other. The time he doesn’t spend thinking about the possible deaths he tries to talk to Connor, but every time he opens his mouth the words get stuck in his mouth and he remains silent. 

Once Markus steers the car upon calmer and familiar roads, he finds himself relaxing slightly. If he focusses on just the trees and the smell of his car he can almost pretend he’s just here for a few days of relaxation with Carl, far away from the world. 

But once he parks the car in front of the path that leads to the cabin the illusion is broken. He isn’t here with Carl, he’s here with Connor, and although he would’ve given anything for that to happen a lifetime ago, Markus doesn’t know how he feels about it now. 

He decides not to focus on that. Instead, he takes a deep breath and exits the car, prompting Connor to follow him. It’s silent when they walk down the gravel path, the only sound being that from the birds and wind. 

The cabin comes in sight, a large wooden structure surrounded by nothing but trees. Markus doesn’t go to the front door right away, but checks the third rock underneath the second window first, successfully finding the can where Carl hides the key. He’s painfully aware of Connor standing behind him, not knowing what to say. 

When he turns around however, Connor isn’t looking at him, but rather at the endless trees that stretch out in front of them. His head is titled back into his neck as he looks up, the sunlight making stripes of light on his face as it shines through the leaves, illuminating his wide eyes. Connor looks as if he’s never seen anything like it before, and with a pang in his heart Markus realizes that he probably never has. 

_You didn’t save him._

That old voice that’s been haunting Markus for the past years suddenly returns, hitting him in the stomach with the force of a truck. He takes a deep breath to keep his emotions under control. 

“Hey,” He says softly, holding up the key as Connor turns to him. “Let’s go inside.” 

The expression of wonder vanishes from Connor’s face as he straightens up and nods. Markus turns around to unlock the door and quickly steps inside with Connor, locking it behind him again. If, for some reason Perkins did manage to find them, he doesn’t think a locked door is going to stop him, but at least is something. 

It’s bright enough in the house, but Markus experimentally flicks the light switch. He’s pleased when they turn on; he suspected Carl had already turned on the electricity when he mentioned Markus should go away for a few days. Hopefully he also had someone stock some food. 

It’s when he enters the living room and a rush of memories come to mind that Markus suddenly feels... lost. He doesn’t know what to do. 

Connor is here. Connor is here and he’s _alive,_ and yet Markus can’t stop to appreciate that. Not when he barely even knows who Connor is right now, not when all his friends could potentially be dead. 

It’s funny to think five years ago he would’ve done anything to be in this situation they’re in right now; being somewhere far away with Connor, somewhere where Cyberlife can’t find them. Safe. 

But it’s not five years ago. Everything is different now and Markus wants to go back to the city, back to his friends, his family. 

Connor steps into the living room as well, and Markus notices how miserable he looks. He has his arms wrapped around himself, gaze pointed down as his face is warped into an expression of guilt, a stark contrast with the look of excitement he wore outside. 

Markus turns to face him, his mouth already opening to speak, but suddenly he’s at lost for words. Connor looks up at him, seemingly waiting for something. They stare at each other for a few seconds, but nothing happens. 

It’s... awkward. 

It’s all so wrong, Markus thinks. It’s never been awkward with Connor. He always knew what to say, what to do, but now Connor is like a stranger to him. 

The realization hurts, and Markus chooses to focus on something else. 

“I-” He starts. “I need to find a phone.” 

He was planning to say more, to tell Connor to stay here, or get comfortable, or- anything. Instead he basically flees the room, rushing down the hall to get to his bedroom. 

Everything still looks the same since last time, when he, North, Simon and Josh went here for a weekend to have fun together. The large bed in the middle of the room is empty, Markus had put everything in the closet that is standing on the other side near the window. The small painting of two hands touching is still laying on the floor, Markus suddenly remembers he forgot to put it back up after North accidentally made it fall. 

For now, though, he ignores it and opens the drawer on the bedstand. It’s empty for the most part, but the phone he was looking for is still there. It’s on of Markus’ old ones, and should still work. He tries it while walking back to the living room, relief flooding him as it turns on. 

Connor is still standing at the same spot next to the fireplace, looking lost in his own mind. He looks up as Markus enters again, eyes fixing on the device in his hand. 

“Who are you going to call?” 

Markus walks further into the room, only stopping when he’s at the back of the couch that’s separating them. He sighs. “North, she’ll tell us what happened.” 

North is always straight to the point, and won’t ask questions about Markus first. If she picks up. _If she’s not dead._

“You can’t.” Connor’s voice is low but determined, as if he’s afraid to argue with Markus, but still needs to speak up. “If you call her Cyberlife will know where we are.” 

His eyes are full of guilt and sadness, as if he’s suffocating under the fact that he’s restricting Markus even more. Markus forces himself to remain calm, to not let his frustration and fear show. It’s not Connor’s fault, and the last thing he wants is make Connor feel even more guilty. He only succeeds somewhat. 

“So I can’t call anyone? Am I just supposed to sit here and wait?” His voice cracks slightly, the emotion making it hard to speak. 

Connor flinches slightly but doesn’t answer right away, instead he stares at the wall behind Markus, thinking. After a moment of silence, he speaks. 

“Call the DPD,” His voice is stronger now. “Ask for Lieutenant Anderson. Cyberlife will discard the call since it’s only from the station.” 

Despite everything, Markus feels a small smile creeping on his face. This is familiar, Connor rushing to his aid and helping him out when he is stuck, the two of them working together. 

He nods and dials the number he thankfully knows from the top of his head, memorized from the days he didn’t have Lieutenant Anderson’s personal number. 

The few seconds it takes to connect the call feel like a century, but when it finally does Markus wastes no time in explaining the situation and asking for the Lieutenant. Thankfully, luck seems to be on his side for once, as he knows the person that picks up. She doesn’t question him but instead connects him right away, and while he waits Markus walks around the couch, sliding down into the cushions. Connor remains standing, looking like he doesn’t know what to do with himself. 

Before Markus can think of anything to say to him, a familiar voice sounds in his ear. “What?” 

Lieutenant Anderson sounds stressed, which only spikes Markus’ own stress further. In the background, Markus can hear voices and rumor, undeniably the aftermath of the explosion. 

“Lieutenant,” He begins. “It’s Markus.” 

“Markus?” There’s some shuffling on the other side, probably Anderson walking somewhere quieter. “Jesus Christ, where the hell are you?” 

“I-” Markus glances over at Connor. “It’s a long story. How is- is everyone okay? What happened?” 

There a long sigh before Anderson speaks. “The alarm went off out of nowhere, Simon said we have you to thank for that? Few minutes later everything went to shit.” 

“Are you alright? Did anyone get hurt?” Markus can’t stop the slight tremor in his voice, and he hopes the Lieutenant doesn’t pick it up. 

“I’m fine. We managed to get almost everyone out, thanks to your heads up. I was hopin’ you could tell us a bit more about that.” 

“Yes, I c- wait,” Markus suddenly realizes what Anderson said. “What do you mean _almost_ everyone?” 

Movement from Connor has Markus quickly look up, but the expression on Connor’s face has him turn away just as quickly. He just looks so damned guilty. 

“There’s been two casualties as far as we know. They’re still digging in the rubble, two people are missing and five have been rushed to the hospital with severe injuries. Simon and Josh are fine, but-” He trails off and Markus sits up straighter, heart hammering in his chest. He doesn't even notice Connor’s movement at the mention of the deaths. 

“But what? Is North okay? Where is she?” 

“Look Markus,” A pause. “She’s at the hospital right now. Witness says she was trying to help a reporter that got pushed aside and hurt her ankle. She didn’t make it out in time, but they were able to get to ‘er pretty quick. Last thing I heard she got emergency surgery.” 

Markus feels as if the house is suffocating him, as if there is no more air in the room. North is in the hospital. North could _die._ He forces himself to speak. 

“Is she- Is she going to make it?” 

“I’m sure she will,” Anderson says. “It’s gonna take a whole lot more than an explosion to keep that girl down.” 

Despite everything, a snort escapes Markus. He knows Lieutenant Anderson is just trying to give him hope instead of actual information, but it does work. 

“She’s got help, alright?” He says when Markus doesn't respond. “She’ll be fine, if only to kick your ass for disappearing. Are you gonna tell me where the fuck you are?” 

Markus hesitates and looks at Connor, waiting for his nod before he speaks. “I’m at Carl’s cabin. With Connor.” 

There’s a moment of silence. 

“With Connor.” Comes the reply. “The same Connor that shot Daniel and escaped from police custody?” 

“Yes.” 

“Jesus fucking-” 

“Hank,” Markus interrupt. “It’s not- He’s not dangerous.” 

“He listening in right now?” 

After Markus confirms that yes, he is, Anderson instructs Markus to put the phone off speaker. Connor only turns away at the statement, and Markus takes that as permission to do so. 

“So, is he responsible for the shit that’s happening here?” 

“Yes, but he-” 

“And now you’re there with ‘im. Alone.” 

Markus sighs. “He could’ve killed me, but he didn’t. He turned on Cyberlife and warned me for the bombs. I could warn Simon because of that.” 

Connor looks over his shoulder as he hears the word, but turns back to the window as he catches Markus eyes. 

Anderson remains silent for a long while, until- 

“Do you trust him?” 

Markus looks at Connor, at his back that’s turned to him, at his familiar brown hair, neatly styled to fit his grey suit. At his slightly slumped posture and the nervous tapping of his fingers. He wants to say _yes! Yes of course I trust him!_ , but something is preventing him. 

Can he trust Connor? Can he say that he knows his motivations, his next moves with a hundred percent certainty, like he could before? 

“I don’t know,” He admits. “I think I can.” 

Anderson hums. “Just, be careful, alright? I know you think he could never do anyone wrong but...” 

“I know.” The words are no more than a whisper, filled with years old grief. “I’ll be fine.” 

“I think it’s best if you stay there for a while, we also arrested some shady ass people with weapons searching the perimeter. Something tells me they were lookin’ for you.” 

“They were.” Markus confirms. “It’s Perkins’ squad. They have orders to kill me.” 

“Right, just- stay put, I’ll call you tomorrow, as soon as I have updates on North and Perkins.” 

Markus lets himself sink into the couch even further, the heavy weight of the situation pushing him down. “Alright.” 

“Take care of yourself, kid.” The line disconnects, and the cabin is once more thrown into silence. 

Markus is tired. He’s so, so tired. The stress about North, not knowing what to do with Connor, having to wait _again,_ it’s all too much and he needs to get away from it. He stands up, making Connor face him again. 

“I need some sleep.” Markus announces, not able to look him in the eye. “There’s another bedroom down the hall, you can use it, as well as the bathroom there. Just- I need to...” He trails off, not knowing what else to say. Some part of him wants to pull Connor close and never let him go again, promise him everything will be alright and that they’ll be fine. 

But another part, a much darker part, is whispering that North could die because he placed those bombs there. That he shot Daniel. That he doesn’t remember him. 

Markus wants to kill it, bury it deep inside of him until it can never resurface, but right now, when he still needs to process everything, he just can’t. 

So he walks away, towards his bedroom. 

“Markus,” Connor’ voice stops him, and Markus turns around again. “I’m sorry.” 

It’s two words, barely louder than a whisper, and the look on Connor’s face makes Markus’ heart break. Finally, _finally,_ he knows what to say. 

“It’s not your fault,” His voice is equally soft. “You didn’t know any better, but you’re here now. That’s all that matters.” 

Connor doesn’t look him in the eye anymore, but he does nods ever so slightly. Markus turns around again, disappearing in his bedroom. His hand hovers on the lock for a second, debating. 

Connor won’t hurt him, there is no need to lock it, he reasons, and almost steps away, but the dark part of him is still roaring in his depths. 

It doesn't matter, he decides, and turns the lock. If Connor isn’t planning anything, then nothing will change, and if he is, then at least the door is locked. 

Markus opens the closet, and quickly makes his bed, his mind on North, worry making his movements slow and uncoordinated. He forces himself not to think about it as he shrugs off his suit. There’s nothing he can do now, and Anderson was right. North isn’t going to die from an explosion. She’s too stubborn for that. 

_Right?_

Crawling under the blankets, Markus doubts sleep will come to him, but the softness of the bed proves him wrong. He’s dead tired, and the worry that he suspected would keep him awake drifts away with his consciousness. 

Connor is still in the house, and he needs to talk to him. Properly. North could be dead, and he needs to know she’s okay. Amanda is still out there, and she isn’t going to stop until they stop her. 

Markus sighs, pushing all of that away. 

He’ll deal with it tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES IM ALIVE
> 
> I know, I know this takes so long every damn time and I'm so sorry. I really do wish I could upload faster but Oh my God is school stressing me out. And it's not only school :( 
> 
> BUT here it is, chapter 11. I really hope you are still enjoying this! We've reached the midpoint of the story, and things are about to change. Gosj, I can't believe we made it over the first half. Thank you so much for still sticking with me!
> 
> Also thank you to everyone who left me comments, even though the update is slow, I read them so many times to keep going <3 It really helped me a lot!
> 
> And thank you Cipherlife60, as always, for beta reading <3
> 
> I don't know when the next one will be, but if you're willing to wait I'm sure it'll show up soon! Thank you all for reading, and till next time :)


	12. All for you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We take a moment to sit back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is anyone listening  
> Is anyone around to see?  
> That I'm doing it all for you  
> I'm doing it all for you
> 
> -[All for you](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvR9iRwKgl4), Imagine Dragons

**May 29, 2026**

**11:39 PM**

The forest is beautiful. 

It's so different from anything Connor has ever known. Sure, he’s seen pictures and videos about places like this, but to be looking at the real thing from behind a window... he doesn’t know how to describe it. It's so... _alive._ There’s constant movement, even though Connor can’t see much in the darkness. It feels as if a hundred tiny eyes are staring back at him. Every leaf that moves or every branch that breaks could mean something, could be caused by something different than the last. There’s just _so much._

Despite feeling like he could look at it forever though, Connor rips his gaze away from the window to look back into the now empty room. He feels lost. 

The feelings that swirl inside him somewhat resemble the untamed movement of the forest outside, and Connor can’t make sense of it. With a trembling sigh he sits down on the single couch, wrapping his arms around himself. 

He doesn’t know what to do. 

He made a choice, the right choice, he believes. It has to be the right one; he prevented the deaths of all those people inside the building. _You still killed four of them,_ his mind helpfully reminds him, and Connor curls in himself further, guilt making his stomach hurt. 

Despite all of that, despite the guilt and regret he feels at the deaths caused by his hands, somewhere that guilt is fed by something else. It’s Amanda’s face, burned in his mind, her expression filled with disappointment. It’s her voice as she says; “ _You are our last hope, Connor, you cannot fail._ ” 

But that’s exactly what he did, isn’t it? He failed his only mission, the one thing he needed to do. Amanda has been there for him time and time again, but when the time came to repay, Connor couldn’t do it. He betrayed her. 

And that’s not even the end of it, because he couldn’t even do that properly. He killed people, still. He doesn’t belong anywhere now. He betrayed both sides. 

His feelings of guilt, helplessness, and panic grow stronger as his thoughts run over each other, reminding him all too clearly of who he is, what he did. He doesn’t want to feel this, doesn’t want to think about this, but he knows he deserves it. He just- he has to make it stop, it’s too much right now. 

He can only come up with one thing he knows that can help him, and he lifts his head to look into the hallway. 

Markus only went to bed a few minutes ago, if Connor is quick, he probably won’t be sleeping yet. When Markus was here, it all felt a little better, like Connor does belong somewhere. Like he has a place to go, someone who will stand by him and make sure he doesn’t have to face his problems alone. 

Without fully realizing it, Connor stands up and makes his way towards the bedrooms. He just wants to talk to Markus, because when he did, even for those short moments, everything just felt- better. 

He reaches the door, and his hand hovers before the wood, hesitating. 

Markus wanted to sleep. He looked exhausted, and he probably wanted to get away from Connor for a moment. Connor suddenly remembers the look in his eyes when Markus heard his friend was in the hospital. 

But he also remembers his words, spoken soft and gentle. “ _It’s not your fault_.” 

While he debates his options, Connor scans the door out of habit, lazily reading through the results. 

**Oak door**

**Status: locked**

_Oh._

Slowly, Connor’s hand drops back to his side, a whole new emotion filling his chest. Markus locked the door. 

_He doesn’t trust you._

That thought enters his mind before anything else, and he takes a step back. He doesn’t bother arguing with it as he continues down the hall, finding the bedroom Markus told him to take. 

It doesn’t matter, he tells himself. It's perfectly reasonable for Markus to lock his door. For all he knows, Connor could be dangerous. He could have lured Markus here to kill him in his sleep. He pointed a gun at him no longer than two hours ago, of course Markus doesn’t trust him. It’s perfectly understandable. 

But then why does it hurt so much? 

Connor sits down on the bed once he enters the room, not moving for a moment. He has felt like this before, back in Cyberlife. When he wasn’t allowed to eat with the others anymore, or when he let Amanda down and didn’t see her for days. It’s a feeling of being lost and of loneliness, and Connor hates it. Right now, it’s worse than it’s ever been, and he tries his hardest to suppress it. 

He wishes Cyberlife had never been discovered. He wishes he could just go back to his room, where he didn’t feel like this, where everything wasn’t so overwhelming, where it was easier. 

Taking in a trembling breath, Connor clenches a fist, reaching in his pocket with the other hand, his fingers closing around the coin stacked in there. He flips it in the air a few times, choosing to focus on the soft sounds it makes rather than on the thoughts in his head. When it’s not enough anymore, Connor starts shooting the coin from hand to hand, needing to look at it to properly calculate its path and catch it again. 

He loses track of time as he continues to manipulate the coin around his fingers, and slowly but surely his anxiety dies down, leaving Connor nothing but exhaustion. Catching the coin one last time, he lets himself fall back onto the bed, placing the small object on the nightstand. He sighs as he looks at it in the dark, wondering how he got here. 

Slowly, he sits up again to take off his suit, not wanting to sleep in these clothes. He doesn’t have anything else here, so he just crawls into bed in his underwear. Thankfully, it’s warm enough in the house and Connor pulls the blanket over himself, relaxing slightly at the safe feeling it provides. 

Tomorrow, he’ll talk to Markus and will start making up for the things he did. He can fix this, but he just needs to rest for now. 

Letting out one last sigh, Connor closes his eyes and waits for sleep to take him away. 

* * *

**May 30, 2026**

**7:03 AM**

They’re running, the snow crushing underneath their boots and the air turning into clouds as they breathe. Connor’s hand lies in his own, and Markus squeezes a bit tighter as the cold bites in his skin. 

For a moment, Markus keeps looking up as they run. This is the first time he is seeing stars, _real_ stars, and it makes him feel incredibly small. As if he and Connor running through this field are nothing more but two grains of sand in a desert, insignificant and tiny, ready to be swallowed by the world. 

For a moment, he doesn’t think about the panic, the pain, and the exhaustion. For a moment Markus only focuses on the air in his lungs, Connor’s arm around his waist, and the freedom that rushes through him for the first time in nineteen years. 

They’re going to make it. 

A blaring alarm cuts through the air, severing the silent night and announcing upcoming trouble. Connor doesn’t stop, doesn’t even look back. He just keeps running, gaze straight ahead, heading for the harbor in the distance. 

Markus, however, can’t resist looking back, at the building that hides so many secrets, that they managed to escape from, and that is now opening its gate to let out a dozen cars with bright lights, looking for them. Filled with renewed terror Markus forces himself to go faster. They made enough distance to buy some time, but they’re on foot and the jeeps filled with armed guards are quickly approaching. 

When he looks back Connor is no longer next to him, but running ahead, faster than Markus can catch up. He tries to push himself harder, ignoring the blasting alarm that’s ringing in his ears, but his legs feel so heavy, and he can’t _move faster._

Connor keeps running, not even looking back as Markus struggles. Trucks race past him towards the brunet and Markus desperately tries to yell to warm him, but his voice gets swallowed in the noise of the alarm. Panic takes a hold of Markus, and he falls as his legs refuse to cooperate. 

The trucks reach Connor and cut of Markus’ sight on him. The alarm gets louder as Markus screams at them to leave Connor alone, but it’s futile. It’s as if his voice gets swallowed by the world and is if his body is trapped in molasses. 

Suddenly, Connor screams and Markus bolts upright, the cold night making place for his bedroom. His panic doesn’t leave him as the dream falls away, and although he can now see the real world, the alarm that was blazing in his dream is still present, high pitched and screeching. 

Panic overtakes rational thought, and Markus jumps out of bed, untangling himself from the blanket as he rushes towards the door. The screeching becomes louder once he opens it, making Markus’ panic grow. 

_They found us, they took Connor, I need to save him, I need to-_

There is no one in the living room, but when Markus runs into the kitchen, he finds the cause of the chaos. Connor is frantically looking around, still wearing the pants of his suit, but he has discarded the blazer, leaving him in a white button-up. His hair is messy with unruly curls as he stands barefooted in the kitchen. A frying pan is lying on the kitchen counter, smoke coming off something black, which must be what set off the alarm. 

Markus takes all this in within a second, and his panic turns into confusion. “Connor!” He yells over the alarm, causing the brunet to turn wide eyes to him. “What are you doing?!” 

“I can’t find the alarm!” Connor yells back, waving a towel as another bout of smoke makes its way to him. 

Markus doesn’t waste any more breath in yelling back, and instead quickly climbs on top of the counter so he can reach a top cabinet, where the smoke detector is placed. His ears hurt from the screaming device, but his hand finally closes around it and pull it towards himself, quickly turning it off. 

The sudden silence is overwhelming, so Markus stays on the counter for a moment, breathing slowly as his dream still lingers in his mind. 

He places the smoke detector down, slowly letting his legs slip off the counter as he tries to calm his body. Looking up at Connor, he sees that the brunet is staring at the frying pan where smoke is still coming off. Markus has no idea what the black thing in the middle was supposed to be. 

“What were you doing?” He asks, slightly out of breath. 

“I-” Connor starts, turning towards Markus. Brown eyes look him up and down and Markus is suddenly reminded he’s only wearing his underwear. Self-conscious, he wraps his arms around himself, waiting for Connor to continue. 

“I was making breakfast.” His eyes slide away, and his answer comes out mumbled. Markus looks over at the still smoking pan. 

“Breakfast?” 

“It’s an egg,” Connor states, defensively, and Markus becomes amused. “I didn’t how to fry one, but it was all there was in the fridge. I read about it once, but I don’t know what went wrong.” 

A chuckle escapes Markus before he can help it. “Seems like you burned it.” 

Connor frowns. “I tried to flip it, but it was stuck, so I-” 

He cuts himself off, making Markus tear his gaze from the burned... _egg_ to Connor. “Did you put in butter or oil first?” 

“Was I supposed to?” 

Markus smiles, the thoughts of the previous day forgotten for a moment. It’s almost as if nothing happened, as if he and Connor weren’t separated five years ago. A voice in Markus’ head still tells him that this is not the case, that he should remain cautious, but he pushes it away. He doesn’t want to think about that now. 

“Okay,” Markus says. “Why don’t you clean this up, then I’ll get dressed and show you how to make something edible.” 

Connor straightens, seemingly eager to make his mistake right, and Markus inwardly slaps himself for making it seem like Connor was at fault. “Yes,” Connor responds. “I’m sorry for waking you, and for burning the food. It won’t happen again.” 

Markus shakes his head as he pushes himself off the counter. “It’s okay, you didn’t know. I was awake anyway.” He lies, hoping to ease Connor’s nerves a bit. It seems like Connor’s ability to blame himself for everything hasn’t faded with the years, and Markus doesn’t know if he should be happy or sad about that. 

At Connor’s hesitant nod Markus leaves the kitchen and walks back to his bedroom, suddenly feeling tired again from the train wreck that was waking up. He sighs as he opens his closet and is pleased to see there are some clothes left. He wasn’t sure whether he left any, but he silently thanks his past self as he pulls out a simple pair of sweatpants and a red t-shirt. He should probably offer some to Connor as well, it would be a lot more comfortable than his suit. 

He also checks the phone he left in his room, but as expected there aren’t any missed calls or voicemails. The anxiety of not knowing crawls back up, but Markus refuses to let it take control. He checks if the phone still has enough battery and places it back, leaving the room to get back to Connor. 

When he enters the kitchen again, most of the smoke is gone and the burned smell is slowly fading as Connor has opened a window. He turns around when he hears Markus enter and his mouth opens slightly as if he wants to speak, but he closes it just as quickly. Instead, he folds his hands behind him, waiting. 

Markus smiles slightly. “Let’s see if we can find anything edible, shall we?” 

“There are still some eggs left.” Connor says, nodding his head towards the fridge. 

Markus considers this for a moment before shaking his head. “There should be some other stuff here as well, and eating a plain egg isn’t all that great.” 

Connor’s eyes drop down again, and Markus wonders if he’s beating himself up about that as well. He quickly continues speaking. “Carl had some food brought over, and if I’m not wrong...” He steps further into the kitchen, opening a cabinet. He was right; there are a few cans of soup stocked away, as well as some other products. Markus picks one randomly, turning around to Connor as he smirks. “Tada.” 

Connor tilts his head slightly as he looks at the can. “I... suppose that would be better, yes.” 

His head gesture makes Markus’ heart flutter slightly. He is so much like he used to be, it’s evident in all the little things that Connor does. Why doesn’t he remember Markus? He forces himself to keep smiling, not letting his somber thoughts show. “There should be a can opener in one of those drawers, if you get it I’ll show you how to make this.” 

Connor nods and starts looking, and after he finds it, they fall into a simple working rhythm in where Markus explains how to properly heat the soup without burning it. Connor only looks mildly annoyed at his comment about burning, but listens carefully to what Markus has to say. Markus is glad they have an activity to keep their conversations occupied, it makes it easier to not fall into that uncomfortable awkwardness of yesterday. Markus can almost forget something is even going on when they’re like this. Almost. 

When the soup is boiling in the pan, Markus sets a timer and leans against the counter, crossing his arms. “So,” He starts, wanting to maintain the easy mood they’ve got going on. “You can set bombs unnoticed in a hall filled with police officers, but you can’t fry an egg?” 

Connor copies Markus’ stance and scoffs. “I have been trained in those abilities until I reached perfection, frying an egg is not a basic skill to have.” 

_In most lives it is,_ Markus thinks sadly. “Not setting the house on fire is a good skill as well.” 

“I didn’t set anything on fire.” 

Markus hums, feeling surprisingly relaxed despite everything that is going on. There’s so much they need to talk about, trembling beneath the surface, but Markus isn’t ready to go there yet. He wants to stay here for a while, where the conversation is lighthearted. 

“Do you have a first aid kit here?” Connor’s question breaks Markus’ thoughts and concern starts killing the relaxation Markus had been feeling. He frowns. 

“Why?” 

Connor touches his arm, a slightly bothered expression on his face. “I think I ripped my stitches yesterday. If I can get some bandages I can at least check the wound, and a first aid kit should have the necessary supplies to replace the stitches.” 

He hadn't noticed before, but now that Connor pointed it out Markus can see that the upper part of Connor’s left arm is a lot thicker, thanks to his bandages. Markus thinks back to that day in the DPD, when he learned Detective Reed had shot Connor. 

“I think so,” He responds, pushing himself off the counter. “I’ll go look for it, keep an eye on the soup, okay?” 

After Connor’s nod Markus walks toward the main bathroom, thankfully finding the unused kit in one of the cabinets. As he returns, Connor is just putting the lid back on the pan after taking out the ladle. Markus watches as some soup sticks to his finger and he lifts it up to look at it. After a second of thought, Connor brings it up to his mouth and licks it off. Markus can’t tell what he thinks of it, but the brunet tilts his head for a second, blinks a few times, and licks his lips. He must have heard Markus as he turns around and locks eyes with him. 

Pretending like he hadn’t just been caught staring, Markus asks Connor to come to the living room, trusting their meal won’t die while they’re gone. 

“This should have everything in it,” He says while walking towards the couch. “It’s old, but it’s never been used.” 

“That’s perfect,” Connor says. “I’ll know what to do.” He holds his hand out, expecting Markus to give him the kit. Markus hesitates. 

“I’ll help you, it’s probably easier if you don’t have to stitch yourself back up.” He offers a small smile, trying to ease the worry in his chest. 

Connor shakes his head softly. “That’s okay, I can do it on my own.” 

“But you don’t have to.” 

A moment of silence passes between them, hanging heavily in the air, but then Connor nods slowly, letting his hand drop back down. “Do you know how to?” 

Markus hums. “Sit, lift up your sleeve.” 

Obeying Markus’ words, Connor sits down on the couch and tugs on his sleeve once before deciding he can’t get it high enough. Markus sits down next to him, opening the first aid kit and pretending to be looking through the items inside as Connor takes off his shirt. 

He takes out the small scissors before placing the kit on the couch, moving to sit cross-legged facing Connor so he can work easier. Connor doesn’t move when Markus reaches out to take a hold of the bandage, but keeps his back straight and his eyes forward, only tensing slightly when Markus’ hand touches his arm. It takes little effort to cut through the bandage, and the feeling of Connor’s arm beneath Markus’ fingers is almost electrical. The arm is warm beneath his hand, moving slightly with every breath Connor takes. A shiver passes through when Markus removes the bandage. _He’s alive._

But it’s not the same as it used to be, the blue spot on the bandage is an all too painful reminder of that. Markus bites his lip as he inspects the wound; Connor was right, a few stitches have broken, and Markus will have to redo all of them to properly close the wound again. There are a few blotches of blue around the wound, probably from where Connor has been bleeding. 

Markus thumbs the blue on his arm as he prepares to cut the stitches, a lump forming in his throat. Before he can stop himself, he speaks, keeping his eyes locked on his work while he does so. 

“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.” 

At his words, Connor tenses, his breathing faltering slightly. From the corner of his eyes, Markus can see his brown ones shifting down while his eyebrows furrow. He wishes he knew what Connor was thinking. 

When Connor speaks, it’s soft and hesitant. “What happened?” 

A huff of air that could be a laugh escapes Markus, and he shakes his head as he starts cleaning Connor’s wound. “A lot.” 

Connor shrugs with one shoulder. “I have nowhere to be.” 

“Yeah,” Markus starts removing the now cut stitches, making sure to be as gentle as possible. “Okay.” He takes a moment to collect himself. It’s time to do this. To talk about everything standing between them, to tell Connor who he is. 

“We first met in Cyberlife,” He begins. “I was seven.” 

And then he talks. He talks about how they met and how they grew closer, developing a bond Markus thought could never be broken. How he started doubting Cyberlife and how he convinced Connor to do so too. It’s hard to not get sidetracked, to not get lost in the millions of tiny memories they made over the years, but he manages. He talks about their plan, and how he felt as they executed it. 

Connor is silent throughout the whole thing, only listening as Markus talks and stitches up his arm again. He doesn’t complain about the discomfort or the pain, and his face betrays nothing about what he’s thinking. 

When Markus gets to the end, he doesn’t waste many words on the story anymore. He talks about how he felt when Connor left him, then how he ran back to Detroit and realized there was nothing he could do. It hurts, talking about his failure that cost Connor everything, but he owes it to the brunet to tell him. 

He ties up the bandage as he finishes. “And then I thought you were dead. You can imagine my surprise when I saw you at the DPD.” He sits back, wiping his sweaty hands on his pants and speaks quietly. “There, all done.” 

Connor doesn’t move yet, so Markus looks at the emotion on his face. He seems to be deep in thought and is probably trying to make sense of everything Markus just told him. Eventually, he sighs, turning to look at Markus. 

“Thank you.” He says, and Markus isn’t sure if he’s referring to the bandage or the story. 

Markus studies his face again now that he’s facing him, and he can only imagine the look he must be giving Connor. How tempting it is to just reach out and pull him against his chest, to hold him where he’s safe and where Markus can protect him from the world. 

But Markus does none of that, instead he leans back on the couch and nods. “Do you believe me?” 

Connor averts his gaze and reaches for his shirt. “What you told me goes against everything I’ve ever known.” He says while buttoning it up. “But... I think I do.” 

The relief that washes over Markus is immediate, the small fear of Connor walking away from him if he didn’t believe Markus’ words vanishing. He nods slowly. “So, your turn.” 

Connor finishes the final button, looking up at Markus again, making the older man regret his words. “I mean, you don’t have to share anything you don’t want to. But, if you do, I would like to know.” 

“I suppose that’s fair.” Connor agrees. He finally allows himself to lean back into the couch a little, no longer sitting in that straight position from before. His eyes slide away to the window, where the sun is shining through the countless leaves, creating patterns of light and shadows in the room. Connor seems to be thinking for a moment, but after a few seconds he starts speaking. “My first memories date back to December 10, 2024. I woke up in the laboratory with Doctor Andronikov and his assistant, they called me RK800 and performed some tests on my brain, if you can call it that.” 

He looks back at Markus, smiling shyly at his last comment. Markus frowns. “What do you mean?” 

This time, Connor looks down, and he seems sad. “I’m not... human. I was created by the scientists in Cyberlife. They managed to replicate a human body, to a certain extend. You’ve seen my blood,” Now he does look at Markus, twisting his arm. “It functions the way a normal body would, but from what I gather they didn’t manage to replicate the brain, that’s why I’m able to hack cameras and be connected to the internet at all times.” He tilts his head. “It’s a machine.” 

Markus feels sick, knowing what Connor went through. So they did kill him. They killed him, made him into this and robbed him of his memories. He doesn’t even know if this Connor can be called the same Connor he knew before. Does it matter? 

“So ehm, anyway,” Connor continues as Markus remains silent. “Zlatko told me they created me, that I was humanity’s greatest achievement, and that I belonged to them. At first, I was... hesitant to obey them. Some tests just didn’t make sense to me, and they were,” He pauses, his eyes sliding away again. “...unpleasant. They also never explained anything to me, I didn’t know why they did what they did, and it just made everything much harder. They didn’t like it when I didn’t obey.” 

There’s pain in Connor’s voice, it’s concealed carefully behind a façade of composure, but Markus has known him long enough to recognize it. His veins fill with that old anger, that helplessness of not being able to stop their tests. 

“Then I met Amanda,” To Markus’ shock, Connor smiles slightly at the name, as if he’s reliving a happy memory. “I liked her. She explained things to me, why we were doing what we were, why it was necessary. I was their greatest creation, but I wasn’t perfect yet. They needed to make me better, and I had to be better. She named me Connor and.... that felt right.” He nods to himself, shifting in his spot. “She would stop Zlatko when he went too far. When she was around it was always better, she _cares_ about me. One time I made her angry and I didn’t see her for days. It got worse with Andronikov then, but that was my own fault.” 

Markus wants to intervene, to tell Connor how wrong he is, how wrong all of that is, but Connor keeps talking before he can say anything. “I was willing to do anything for her, but when she asked me to kill you-” He stops, glancing at Markus before quickly averting his gaze again. “When I killed Daniel I- it felt so wrong. I thought I did the right thing, because Amanda knows best, right? But the blood and the screams, it just- and when she told me to kill all those people, I was willing to do so.” 

He shakes his head. “But I had to know, I had to know more about you before you died. And you and your words they just- they were the final straw, I suppose.” 

They look at each other for a moment, brown eyes meet heterochromatic ones, and in that silence Markus can feel everything that’s been lost, everything that came between them. He can’t grasp it; he can’t fix it and get back what he has lost. 

“I’m sorry,” Connor finishes, never breaking eye contact. “I should’ve just broken free sooner, I’m sorry for bringing you in danger, and those people that died-” 

“No, hey,” Markus interrupts, leaning forward. "That's not on you, Connor.” 

Connor huffs, turning his head away. “Yes, it is. I was the one who killed them, that blood is on my hands.” 

Markus takes a slow breath, searching for words. “You didn’t know any better. What you did was not on you. It’s on Cyberlife, on Amanda. You’re with me now, that’s all that matters. It’s about the choices you’re making now, not what you did before.” 

Connor doesn’t seem to believe Markus. He keeps looking down, brow dipped slightly. Eventually, he nods slowly, relaxing his limbs. 

Markus smiles sadly. “We’ll probably be here for a while.” He leans back into the armrest, looking into the living room. “Want to pass some time?” 

Connor blinks a few times before looking at him. “What do you mean?” 

“I don’t know when Lieutenant Anderson is going to call,” He shrugs. “We should probably find a better way to spend the time than sitting on the couch.” 

“Probably,” Connor agrees, eager to get their minds off the conversation from before. “What did you have in mind?” 

Markus thinks about this for a moment. “You ever played chess?” 

* * *

It doesn’t take long to set up the chess set, and after getting the soup of the heat which they definitely did not forget was there, he and Markus sit down at the dinner table, two bowls of steaming soup and a chess set between them. 

Connor has never played before, and he told Markus as such. He could look up the rules, but he doesn’t want to risk alerting Cyberlife to their position, so he has to rely on the other man to explain the game to him. He’s glad there’s something to do, something to focus on. It keeps all of his unwanted thoughts at bay. 

As Markus sets up the pieces, however, Connor still thinks about them. He killed people, he wounded so many more, and Markus- 

Markus is... confusing. One moment, he’s asking Connor to break free from his programming and run with him, then he locks his door to keep him out, but the next day he stitches his wound and helps him with his guilt. It confuses Connor, has him constantly on edge as he tries to make sense of the other man. 

He scans him again, as he has done so many times today already, hoping that some part of his systems might tell him what he’s thinking. Of course, they don’t help and Connor looks at the chess pieces instead, watching Markus’ long fingers carefully place them on their squares, black for Connor, white for himself. 

“Okay,” Markus starts, breaking Connor from his brooding. “So, you have sixteen pieces, and six different kinds. The goal is to capture the king of the other player, which is this one.” He lifts the largest piece on his own side, and Connor looks at the opposite one on his side. 

“You can use all of these pieces to do so, and they all do different things.” Markus starts explaining each induvial piece and the rules that apply to them. Connor pays close attention, making sure to remember everything immediately, but as Markus keeps on talking, he finds it harder to focus on his words. 

He likes it when Markus speaks, Connor realizes. He has a soft voice, soothing and calm. Amanda has that too, but whenever she speaks, there’s always a silent threat underneath her words, like the pretty roses that have sharp thorns. Markus’ voice isn’t like that. It’s sincere and kind. Connor wishes he could just listen to it all day and not bother with his problems anymore. 

“Are you still following me?” Markus asks, making Connor look up and catch his gaze, He can feel his cheeks warm up as he quickly nods. 

“Yes.” He says, quickly scanning through the memories from a few seconds ago. 

Markus doesn’t seem to notice his slight pause and nods. “Good, white opens, so I’ll make the first move.” 

He grabs a pawn, moving it to E4. Connor only takes a second to scan through the rules Markus just explained to him and assigns the functions of each piece to the correct part on the board. He makes his move, mirroring Markus’ one and placing a pawn on C5. 

Markus doesn’t hesitate, and places his next piece on C3, his eyes flicking up from the board to Connor. The brunet pretends not to notice and scan the board again before moving another pawn. They keep going like this, and as the game continues Markus takes longer and longer to make his moves, giving Connor the chance to pre-construct hundreds of scenarios in his head, having to change them every time Markus makes a move. 

They play in silence. Markus likes to play on defense, Connor notices. That’s fine by him, because he finds that he prefers to attack, constantly forcing Markus to switch up his moves to keep him out. Markus doesn’t seem to mind; he has mastered chess enough to do so, patiently waiting until Connor makes a mistake, then quickly attacking and waiting again. 

Eventually, there are only a few pieces left, the piles of fallen ones stacked high on either side of the board. Connor is smiling slightly as he makes another move. Markus is going to lose, he knows. He has pictured the scenario in his head and executed it perfectly. There’s no way out. “Check.” 

Markus, who has folded his arms over his draw up knees frowns as he leans his chin on his wrist. He seems troubled, and Connor feels the victory creeping closer. Markus can run, but he can’t escape. Eventually, he’ll have to give up, or Connor catches him. 

He moves away, but Connor easily moves close to him again. They dance their pieces around the board for a while, Markus trying to block Connor’s queen while Markus moves his king to avoid defeat. After a few more moves, Markus seems more confident, and Connor runs a calculation again. 

_Shit._ The pawns that he deemed unthreatening a few seconds ago now form a perfect barrier for all of his left-over pieces. Markus has forced him into a corner where none of his defenses can help, and no matter how hard he tries, he can’t come up with a way out. Markus smiles, slowly moving his tower two more squares, his eyes flicking up to meet Connor’s as he places it down. 

“Checkmate.” 

Connor frowns as Markus leans back, a smug smile on his face. He looks back at the board, scanning it again. He was winning, he can’t have lost. A familiar panic starts in his stomach, and Connor tries his hardest to push it down. _He can’t have lost._

“Not bad for your first game,” Markus’ voice breaks him out of his thoughts, and he looks back up. “You almost had me there. Too bad for you Carl used that exact strategy before.” He extends his hand. “I’m impressed.” 

Connor hesitates for a second before slowly reaching out and shaking Markus’ hand over his defeated army. “I didn’t expect you to do that.” 

Markus lets go of his hand, grinning. “I know, you got really confident. That’s why you need a poker face.” 

“It’s chess.” 

“Still,” Markus leans forward again, picking up his fallen pieces and placing them back down. “It’s better if your opponent doesn’t know what you're thinking, don’t you think?” 

Connor considers this for a moment. “I suppose.” 

Markus nods. He seems relaxed now, and Connor wonders how he does that while knowing what is going on outside this cabin, knowing that his friend could be dying, that Connor might still kill him. Maybe it’s a poker face as well, he thinks. Maybe Markus is just really good at hiding how he feels. 

“Want to try again?” 

Connor sighs, pushing his now empty bowl of soup away as he starts to gather his pieces. “Do you want to lose?” 

This gets an actual chuckle out of Markus, making Connor smile in response. Maybe it’s not a poker face, maybe Markus is just pushing all those bad thoughts away until they can’t be ignored anymore. “You think you can beat me in your second game?” 

“Yes,” Connor says. “Now that I've seen how you play I should be able to deflect your strategies.” 

Markus hums. “I’d like to see that.” He moves his first pawn, and they start playing. 

In the end, Connor doesn’t beat him. Turns out Markus has a lot more strategies up his sleeve that come from years of practice. They start again, and Connor is determined to win at least once. They play until they get hungry and need to make lunch, and then until it nears dinner time. Connor ends up beating Markus a few times, and the satisfaction that comes with that almost erases his anxiety. 

Eventually, they put the game away, both mentally exhausted from playing for so long. Markus got more stressed as time passed on, Connor could tell. And right now, as they sit on the living room couch with the phone resting on the table, Connor can almost feel the nervous energy coming off Marus. He wishes he knew what to say to reassure him, but his own nerves and guilt prevent him from doing so. 

So they sit in silence, slowly eating some more soup they made. It’s not uncomfortable, to Connor’s relief, but it is tense. They both just have a lot on their mind and don’t see a way to communicate about it. 

Suddenly, the silence is broken by a ringing, and before Connor can even react Markus jumps up from the couch and grabs the phone, immediately bringing it to his ear. 

“Hello?” He asks, voice almost trembling with emotion. “Yes, it’s me. Is North-” Markus is silent for a while, listening. Connor tries to read his face, but can’t tell what Markus hears. It can’t be too bad, he decides, as Markus expression changes. 

“Oh, thank God,” Markus says, sinking down on the couch again. “And the rest? .... Okay. Yes, I- I'm good, we’re good. Nothing happened.” A pause as he listens. “We will, thank you, Lieutenant. I- yes, but thank you, really.” It takes a few more seconds before Markus bids the Lieutenant goodbye and puts the phone away. He releases a long, shaky exhale as he does so, burying his face in his hands. Connor can almost see some of his worries glide away, lifting off his shoulders. 

“That was Lieutenant Anderson,” Markus says and lifts his head back up. “North is okay. She needed surgery to remove a metal rod from her side, but apart from that and a broken arm, she’s okay.” 

Connor exhales, nodding. “I-” He’s suddenly at loss for words, should he apologize again? “I’m really glad, Markus.” 

“Yeah,” Markus agrees. “Me too.” 

Connor swallows. “What else did the Lieutenant say?” 

“They didn’t find Perkins,” Markus doesn’t sound angry about that, just exhausted. “But they think the danger is over, or at least as much as it will be. We can go back.” 

Nodding, Connor averts his gaze, thinking. “We should go back then. You need to see your friends and I-” He pauses, suddenly realizing he literally has nowhere to go. “I’ll figure something out.” 

“No,” Markus places a hand on his arm, the movement is so sudden Connor flinches without meaning to, and Markus pulls his hand back. “You’re not on your own, okay? I’ll find some place for you to stay, somewhere you’re safe, somewhere nice.” 

Connor looks at him, considering his words. “Of course, you don’t have to,” Markus quickly adds, misinterpreting Connor’s silence. “You don’t have to stay with me, if you’d rather be somewhere else, but-” He catches Connor’s gaze, and his eyes are so intense Connor couldn’t look away if he tried. “I told you you don’t have to do this on your own, and I meant it. I’ll be here for you, if you want me.” 

“Thank you.” The words exit Connor’s mouth without thinking, filled with relief he didn’t know he needed. 

Markus smiles at him, soft and reassuring, an unspoken promise between them. “Come on,” He stands slowly, stretching his legs as he goes. “We should head back, it’s quite a long ride.” 

Connor nods and stands as well. They’ve spent enough time away, and they can’t hide from the world forever. He still has so many issues to solve, it almost scares him just to think about it, but he knows he can’t run. 

It’s time to go back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think we all just have to get used to not so frequent updates because..... yeahhhhh I'm not doing so great with that am I? XD
> 
> Either way, I do want to say that I will keep updating this fic, even though it might take me a month per chapter, and if I ever were to decide to stop I'll definitely upload a chapter letting you know :)
> 
> And thank you so much if you are still sticking with me throughout all of this, it's still so much fun to write and hear everyone's thoughts on the story, really, thank you so, so much!
> 
> And Cipherlife60 thank you so much for still doing this with me even though school and everything is going on. Love you!
> 
> I hope this chapter was fun to read, finally some healing after a _lot_ of damage, no hug yet, but maybe one day right? 
> 
> Hopefully, see you in the next chapter, and I hope it'll be a bit sooner than this one, but don't get your hopes up, sorry! Take care!

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! If you enjoyed this then please let me know by leaving a kudo or a comment! I will love you for it.
> 
> If you want more RK1K, check out my zombie au: [Skipping stones](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20258467/chapters/48015616)!  
> Or my 5+1 things fic [ 5 times their friend watched them sleep](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24062740)
> 
> Tumblr: [friendly-neighbourhood-writer](https://friendly-neighbourhood-writer.tumblr.com)!


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